| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 70.59 |
| Liaison | Daryl Pierson |
| Submission Date | June 27, 2017 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Portland State University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Theodore
McClain Food Service Director PSU Dining |
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a published sustainable dining policy?:
A brief description of the sustainable dining policy:
Aramark's Sustainable Food Policies:
RESPONSIBLE SOURCING:
We purchase local, seasonal and responsibly raised, grown and sourced products whenever possible. We firmly believe responsible sourcing has a direct impact on our local and global economies, our health and wellness and the environment. With every purchase we engage suppliers and partners in an effort to source environmentally and socially responsible products.
WASTE MINIMIZATION:
We minimize our waste by reducing, reusing and recycling. We minimize our footprint through our waste reduction efforts. Across our operations, we have established practices from initial purchase to final waste disposal that decrease the overall cost of waste both environmentally and financially.
EFFICIENT OPERATIONS:
We implement practices to conserve natural resources and ensure operational efficiencies. Fueled by the understanding that our day-to-day actions have an impact, we work closely with our clients to conserve energy and water.
TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT:
We ensure our transportation programs reduce fuel usage and emissions. Transportation provides a vital circulation system that enables delivery of the highest quality product and service. With our vehicle fleet of thousands, it’s essential for us to minimize our use of fossil fuels and generation of emissions.
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:
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:
Three times a year Victor's at Ondine invites Charlie's to host a local produce farmers market. Students can use cash or their dining dollars to purchase local produce at these events.
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:
Green Roots:
A student run cafe that offers a all vegetarian/vegan menu
Viking Food Court:
Several of the vendors in the Viking Food Court have vegan options
Victor's in Ondine:
Victor's provides several clearly marked vegan options
http://pdx.campusdish.com/Commerce/Catalog/Menus.aspx?LocationId=5640
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:
Victor's at Ondine worked with the company Green Monday.
Green Monday:
Established since April 22, 2012, Green Monday is a social enterprise group that promotes and enables green, healthy and sustainable living. Through our vegetarian promotion and food rescue initiatives, we are a platform that enables corporations, restaurants, schools, and the general public to join efforts in reducing our carbon footprint and performing our social and environmental responsibilities.
It is not about converting people to vegetarianism, nor does it require a drastic or overnight lifestyle change or a huge time commitment. Green Monday educates the public how easy and effective it is to reduce carbon footprint and improve health by giving up meat for just one day per week.
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:
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:
Green Roots Cafe:
Tucked in the basement of Smith is the student-run Green Roots
Cafe. This sustainability-focused cafe offers local, organic,
vegan, and vegetarian cuisine, and features ethically traded
coffee from a local roaster that employs adults with disabilities.
The cafe’s durable dishware and compost stations cut down on
unnecessary waste. In the Green Space next door, student
groups like the Environmental Club gather to share ideas.
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:
Victor's at Ondine:
-Victor's at Ondine participated in Green Monday's during the 2015/16 year. This program included signage about low impact dining.
-Victor's clearly marks all of their vegan options.
-Quarterly, Victor's also participates in No Scraps Left Behind, an program that helps educate consumers on post-consumer waste. This program incluses signage with facts about food waste, as well as proving consumers with waste total for the week.
The Viking Food Court clearly marks all of their vegan options and also highlights local products in their grab-and-go section
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:
No Scraps Left Behind is a post-consumer waste program that PSU dining services and the Campus Sustainability Office collaborated on. This specific program provided education to students and brought awareness of food waste. For one week each quarter the food waste left on plates during the lunch time period at Victor's at Ondine were weighed. A volunteer also tabled for the week, engaging with students about food waste and asking student to fill out a survey about their thought and feelings about food waste.
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:
The Viking Food Court has worked on providing culturally diverse food options. Additionally, catering services provides culturally diverse menu options for events.
Victor's at Odine, provides nutrition information about their menu items, giving residents information about healthy food choices.
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:
Dining Services has a system in place for reducing food waste. Using production sheets, they document portions for the day and then at the end of the day record how many were served, left over, and wasted. These are used to help track and determine portions and to avoid waste. Additionally, each prep station has a waste bucket. This is used to review how employees are prepping food items to ensure that prep work is using as much of the food items as possible. The waste bucket is then used to work with employees and educate them on the best practices to reduce post-consumer waste. Dining services also weighs (in lbs) total waste to help reduce future waste and see if their are spikes in waste to create practices to reduce waste. Finally, all grab-and-go food items are donated.
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:
In September 2008, PSU Dining went tray-less in the residential dining hall, Victor’s in the Ondine. Going tray-less conserves water, energy, and chemical cleaners used to wash trays. Tray-less dining also promotes healthier eating habits and reduces over consumption and food waste.
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:
Leftover (pre-served) or surplus food goes to Blanchett House Charity.
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:
Dining services donates all of their fryer oil to Encore Oils to be converted into fuel. Encore collect fryer oil from three locations on campus: Smith Memorial Student Union Viking Food Court, Victor's at Ondine, and University Place Hotel Lincoln Grill
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
All pre-consumer food waste is collected in the kitchens for composting.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
Food waste is collected for composting in all dining locations, including several post-consumer stations in Viking Food Court.
A residential composting program for students who live on campus was started in December 2014.
Food waste in many department break-rooms is collected for composting.
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:
Victor's dining hall offers reusable china and cutlery for dine in meals.
PSU's two dining halls, Victor's in the Ondine, and Viking Food Court offer durable plastic to-go containers that can be returned for cleaning in exchange for a token that can be used for a clean container at the next visit.
Purchase your Green Thread food container at Victor's in the Ondine or at the food court in Smith Center for just $3.50.
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:
PSU's two dining halls, Victor's in the Ondine, and Viking Food Court offer durable plastic to-go containers that can be returned for cleaning in exchange for a token that can be used for a clean container at the next visit.
Purchase your Green Thread food container at Victor's in the Ondine or at the food court in Smith Center for just $3.50.
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:
For a latte or non-drip drink PSU Dining offers a 15 cent discount, but drip coffee, iced tea, and fountain beverages are priced at 95 cents when you bring your own mug (no matter the size of the cup) as opposed to $1.65 (small) $1.95 (medium) or $2.25 (large). Thus, the maximum discount is $1.30 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:
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 Provided by Aramark Dining Services
Information Provided by Aramark Dining Services
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.