| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 49.46 |
| Liaison | Margaret Bounds |
| Submission Date | March 2, 2018 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Connecticut College
OP-8: Sustainable Dining
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.50 / 2.00 |
Margaret
Bounds Director of Sustainability Office of Sustainability |
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a published sustainable dining policy?:
A brief description of the sustainable dining policy:
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor source food from a campus garden or farm?:
A brief description of the program to source food from a campus garden or farm:
Sprout Garden managers deliver available produce to the Purchasing Manager of Dining Services. She weighs the produce and pays market-price for the items through an internal account transfer. Labels are placed items made from the Sprout Garden produce when served in the dining halls.
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?:
A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
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?:
A brief description of the vegan dining program:
All dining halls offer vegan entrees daily for each meal period; at Harris, there is also a Vegetarian/Vegan Station nightly. Daily menus are available online and vegan items available in any dining hall are marked with a green heart.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events (e.g. Meatless Mondays)?:
A brief description of the low impact dining events:
World Vegan Day is celebrated annually with a fully meatless meal in the dining hall.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host sustainability-themed meals (e.g. local harvest dinners)?:
A brief description of the sustainability-themed meals:
Farmer's Harvest dinners are hosted every 3 weeks and feature local produce, seafood, and meat.
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?:
A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:
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?:
A brief description of the sustainability labeling and signage in dining halls:
Posters with facts about sustainable food practices are displayed in the main dining hall. Produce from the campus garden is labeled on the line in the dining halls. Also, the Office of Sustainability and Dining have collaborated to host an event each semester where every menu item has been labeled with sustainability attributes like water use, carbon footprint and food miles.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor engage in outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems?:
A brief description of the outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems:
The College collaborated with the New London County Food Policy Council on a grant that investigated the local food system and the feasibility of setting up a local food hub to increase the amount of local food coming into the Dining Hall. There are also several courses offered annually that allow students the opportunity to learn about sustainable food systems in the community and to work with Dining Services on special projects (Ex: ANT354 Sustainable Food Systems is being offered Spring 2018).
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)?:
A brief description of the other sustainability-related dining initiatives:
Halal dinners are offered each Friday in the Freeman 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?:
A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
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?:
A brief description of the trayless dining or modified menu/portion program:
Trayless dining was implemented in 2008 and there are currently no trays available for use as one moves through the various food stations in either of the main dining halls. In the student center cafe, only small, compostable trays are available upon request.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor donate food that would otherwise go to waste to feed people?:
A brief description of the food donation program:
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)?:
A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
The College sends all pre and post consumer food waste from the dining halls and from catering to a local pig farm for use as animal feed. Used cooking oil is collected by Newport Biofuels for conversion into biodiesel.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor utilize reusable service ware for “dine in” meals?:
A brief description of the reusable service ware program:
No disposable plates, cups or silverware are provided in the dining halls except during special events.
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)?:
A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:
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?:
A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
The three coffee shops on campus all offer a discount for using a reusable mug.
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)?:
A brief description of other dining services materials management initiatives:
Dining Services and students from the Office of Sustainability collaborated on a project to purchase food processing equipment that allowed in-house production of all salad dressings and sauces.
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Information was provided by Dining Services staff.
Information was provided by Dining Services staff.
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.