Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 57.31
Liaison Feng Teter
Submission Date Dec. 4, 2023

STARS v2.2

California State University, Fresno
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.78 / 2.00 Blake Avant
Engineering and Energy Services
Facilities Management
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host a farmers market, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, or urban agriculture project, or support such a program in the local community?:
Yes

A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:

The products in-store have been either grown, packaged, and/or processed by Fresno State and its students.

This unique market is the only location that unifies and showcases the products of the different enterprise units of the Fresno State University Farm Laboratory. In the market, customers will find the many products of the Crop, Dairy, Enology, Floral, Food Processing, Horticulture, Meat, Orchard, and Viticulture Departments.

All of our fresh produce are picked from our fields and placed directly on our shelves.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host a sustainability-themed food outlet on-site, either independently or in partnership with a contractor or retailer?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:
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Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor support disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through its food and beverage purchasing?:
Yes

A brief description of the support for disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:

Purchases from some local suppliers, local first quality produce, focus packaging (paper goods and janitorial supplies), Local vendors like 1st Quality Produce, Producers Dairy, The Meat Market, and the Brownie Baker, and Crystal Creamery


Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
17.10

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events or promote plant-forward options?:
No

A brief description of the low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options:
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Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a vegan dining program that makes diverse, complete-protein vegan options available to every member of the campus community at every meal?:
No

A brief description of the vegan dining program:

The University Dining Hall has a vegan station, which provides vegan options for lunch and dinner. The University Dining is open to residents and can be accessed by non-residents with an entrance fee. The on-campus restaurant, The Bucket, has a "Healthy Eats" section, which has vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options. The North Gym location of the convenience store, "Paws-n-Go", has a 'green zone section', which contains gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, Halal and Kosher snacks and frozen entrees.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor inform customers about low impact food choices and sustainability practices through labelling and signage in dining halls?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability labelling and signage in dining halls:

Labeled bins will be implemented in Fall 2023.

Students on-campus have plans to create signage that encourages diners to opt for eco-friendlier choices in the dining hall.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor participate in a competition or commitment program and/or use a food waste prevention system to track and improve its food management practices?:
Yes

A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:

The CSU participates in diverting commercial and post-consumer food waste from landfills and incinerators through its Organic Recycling program. It also is mandated to report annually the amount of food waste generated and types of programming focused on minimizing the amount of organic waste generated on site to the CalRecycle State Agency Reporting Center (SARC), per AB 1826 Solid Waste: Organic Recycling.

For more information, please visit: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1826&search_keywords


Has the institution or its primary dining services contractor implemented trayless dining (in which trays are removed from or not available in dining halls) and/or modified menus/portions to reduce post-consumer food waste?:
Yes

A brief description of the trayless dining or modified menu/portion program:

The University Dining Hall (UDH) has been tray-less since 2008. When applicable, all menu items in the UDH are offered in single serving portions in an effort to reduce food waste.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor donate food that would otherwise go to waste to feed people?:
Yes

A brief description of the food donation program:

Over the summer, the Amendola Student Cupboard would purchase snack items.microwaveable meals for the university dining services at a reduced price. The Starbucks on-campus would also donate leftover. Food is also donated to the Newman Center during breaks/closures at the institution.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor divert food materials from the landfill, incinerator or sewer for animal feed or industrial uses?:
No

A brief description of the food materials diversion program:

Food waste is disposed of in dedicated binnage, but is not directly used by the campus for feed and industrial uses. it is sorted by the vendor and taken to the compost


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
No

A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
---

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
No

A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
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Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor utilize reusable service ware for “dine in” meals?:
No

A brief description of the reusable service ware program:
---

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor provide reusable and/or third party certified compostable containers and service ware for “to-go” meals (in conjunction with an on-site composting program)?:
No

A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:

To-go meals at the university dining hall is single use. However, the Starbucks location on campus follows the national store policy that most, if not all service ware recyclable or compostable.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor offer discounts or other incentives to customers who use reusable containers instead of disposable or compostable containers in “to-go” food service operations?:
No

A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
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A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:

The University tracking and reporting is grounded in the Real Food Challenge


Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
https://auxiliary.fresnostate.edu/association/dining/dining-hall/index.html

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.