Overall Rating Bronze - expired
Overall Score 39.55
Liaison Gabrielle Lommel
Submission Date June 28, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Concordia College - Moorhead
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.13 / 2.00 Brett Drevlow
STARS Intern
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a published sustainable dining policy?:
No

A brief description of the sustainable dining policy:
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Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor source food from a campus garden or farm?:
No

A brief description of the program to source food from a campus garden or farm:
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Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host a farmers market, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, and/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:

For the past several years, Concordia has partnered with Prairie Roots Food Co-Op to host the 100-Mile Farmers Market on campus. The market is held in the fall right before Thanksgiving to encourage the community to supplement their holiday meal with ingredients from a 100-mile radius.


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:
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Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events (e.g. Meatless Mondays)?:
No

A brief description of the low impact dining events:
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Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host sustainability-themed meals (e.g. local harvest dinners)?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability-themed meals:
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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 inform customers about low impact food choices and sustainability practices through labeling and signage in dining halls?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability labeling and signage in dining halls:
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Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor engage in outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems?:
Yes

A brief description of the outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems:

Dining Services hosts Dietetic and Nutrition interns each year to learn more about mass food systems. Dining Services also assists in the campus wide Taste Not Waste food waste reduction program, led by the interns. Taste Not Waste is a campus-wide program to reduce food waste in the dining hall by 50% by 2020. Dining services has been a partner of this program since the inception.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have other sustainability-related initiatives (e.g. health and wellness initiatives, making culturally diverse options available)?:
Yes

A brief description of the other sustainability-related dining initiatives:

Dining services incorporates diverse cultures into their menus weekly to be available to the campus.


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:

Concordia has set a campus-wide food waste goal to reduce food waste by 50% in the dining hall by 2020. Through intern-led food waste audits, the College will continue to track the progress over the next few years.


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:

Anderson Commons, our main dining center, is a trayless facility. This efficient move saves the campus 200,000 gallons of water each year and eliminates 150 pounds of wasted food each day.


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:

Overproduced food that cannot be frozen for future menus is donated to the Great Plains Food Bank through their food recovery program which Concordia College was instrumental in establishing over 25 years ago. Bakery items are delivered once or twice per week to the Gladys Ray Shelter in Fargo.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor divert food materials from the landfill, incinerator or sewer for animal feed or industrial uses (e.g. converting cooking oil to fuel, on-site anaerobic digestion)?:
No

A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
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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:
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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?:
Yes

A brief description of the reusable service ware program:

The main dining hall utilizes only reusable service ware. The sole cafeteria on campus, Anderson Commons is a trayless dining facility, which has reduced customer plate waste by 10%. (2009; Despite this gain, 18% of food taken by customers is still wasted.) Anderson Commons does not offer disposable ware in the primary cafeteria.


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)?:
Yes

A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:

The Green To-Go program is a reusable to-go container program for the Maize. This program offers a new option of sustainable dining for Maize customers.

To get started:
1. Deposit $5 in cash, credit, or with Cobber Cash at the Maize cashier. You will receive a
participation card.
2. Trade in the participation card to a Maize employee at the counter when you order your meal, and they will serve it in the Green To-Go.
3. Return your Green To-Go to The Maize cashier for a new participation card you can redeem for a container the next time you want to use Green To-Go. The process repeats every time you visit the Maize.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor offer discounts or other incentives to customers who use reusable containers (e.g. mugs) instead of disposable or compostable containers in “to-go” food service operations?:
Yes

A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:

Customers who use reusable mugs or tumblers receive a $0.25 discount on any coffee, tea, or soda fountain beverages. All coffee stop locations on campus offer discounts for reusable mugs as well.


Has the institution or its primary dining services contractor implemented other materials management initiatives to minimize waste not covered above (e.g. working with vendors and other entities to reduce waste from food packaging)?:
No

A brief description of other dining services materials management initiatives:
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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