| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 71.19 |
| Liaison | Margaret Bounds |
| Submission Date | March 1, 2024 |
Connecticut College
OP-8: Sustainable Dining
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.75 / 2.00 |
Margaret
Bounds Director of Sustainability Office of Sustainability |
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?:
A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
The Sprout Garden and Farm partnered with a local organization, FRESH New London, to provide fresh produce - grown both on campus and at urban farming sites in downtown New London — to families in need in our community via a community supported agriculture (CSA) program for the past three years. This past year, this same partnership offered a weekly "pay what you can" produce stand at FRESH New London's community garden. In addition, Sprout holds weekly "by donation" market stands on campus, sells produce to the campus dining hall, and utilizes produce for special events with our catering department.
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 support disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through its food and beverage purchasing?:
A brief description of the support for disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
Dining Services purchases a variety of products from local SMEs, social enterprises and minority owned businesses. Examples include: -Cookies from The Arc Eastern Connecticut which supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities -Produce and meat from a variety of farms in New London County -Seafood from a local fisherman owned and family operated seafood dealer -Sushi from a local restaurant that is sold at our to-go dining location and served by Catering at a variety of events -Cookies from Sweet Loren's, a woman-owned business - Biena Chickpea Snacks, a woman-owned business
Outside of Dining and Catering, the institution encourages departments to order food from diverse local businesses through the America To-Go online ordering platform. The platform launched in Fall 2023 and so far 7% of spending has been with diverse-owned businesses.
Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events or promote plant-forward options?:
A brief description of the low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options:
Special plant-forward meals, paired with tabling by the Office of Sustainability, are offered periodically throughout the year. As students enter the dining hall they are asked to pledge to go meatless for that meal and given information about the environmental impact of meat. The most recent event was held on November 9, 2023.
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 inform customers about low impact food choices and sustainability practices through labelling and signage in dining halls?:
A brief description of the sustainability labelling 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.
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:
Starting in January 2019 Dining Services used the Phood system to track food waste. Prepared foods that could not be re-served were tracked by type to determine which foods were most discarded. Pre-consumer kitchen scraps were also tracked along with post-consumer plate waste. We found that post-consumer plate waste is by far the greatest percentage of our total food waste.
Software problems with the Phood system made this program unsustainable and it was discontinued in December 2019. We have used the data collected to inform ongoing initiatives to prevent food waste.
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:
The College partners with Haven's Harvest to have food picked up each Wednesday by 3 volunteers who deliver the food to local community organizations. The College donates an average of 40 pans of food per week during the academic year.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor divert food materials from the landfill, incinerator or sewer for animal feed or industrial uses?:
A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
The College sends all pre and post consumer food waste from the 2 dining halls and the catering kitchen 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 for dine-in meals.
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:
The CONN-tainers reusable to-go container program was launched in Spring 2022 and expanded to the full campus in Fall 2022. More than half of the student population was enrolled in the program in its first year. The program operates on a carabiner system. After students sign up, they are given a carabiner that they can exchange for a reusbale container at either of our two main dining halls. Students return the containers to the dining hall for washing. Signing up to join the program is free, but if the container or carabiner is lost or not returned at the end of the year, the student is charged a $10 fee for replacement.
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?:
A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
No disposable to-go containers are provided for takeout in the Dining Halls - any student who wants to take food to-go must participate in the CONN-tainers program. One of student-run coffee shops on campus offers a discount if you use their reusable coffee tumbler.
A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
Halal options are offered in our main dining hall.
Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs 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.