| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 50.04 |
| Liaison | Rebecca Collins |
| Submission Date | Feb. 21, 2018 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Temple University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
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:
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:
The university hosts a farmers' market every Thursday between May and November. The project is a collaboration with the Food Trust.
The university also offers a CSA through the Rad Dish Cafe and a partnership with Philly Food Works.
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:
The Resident dining program has options for the vegan and vegetarian population on campus. The Louis J. Esposito Dining Center has a station dedicated to vegetarian and vegan meal options. Besides the Resident dining program, a range of vegan options are offered in other dining facilities.
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:
The university hosts Meatless Mondays at the Louis J. Esposito Dining Center, the main dining center on campus.
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:
The university hosts a harvest meal sourced by the 1940 Residence Hall's community garden each fall semester. Additionally, the Green Council and TCG host sustainable potlucks that are entirely vegan on semi-annual basis. The Office of Sustainability also provides exclusively vegan fare at its events on campus, with much of it sourced from the student-run Rad Dish Co-op Cafe, which has a strict sourcing policy.
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:
Temple University provides the Rad Dish Food Co-op Cafe with a cafe space on campus. The entire establishment is vegetarian/vegan, and is governed by a local sourcing policy that requires items to be purchased within 150 miles of campus, organic or fair trade.
The university also leases a space to HoneyGrow, a locally sourced cafe on campus.
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:
The Louis J. Esposito Dining Center provides signage via table tents and signs sharing information about food waste generated via the dining halls.
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 university's food vendor has hired a sustainability marketing intern for its operations, and is also creating a green team of student representatives to advance sustainability within the dining halls.
The university has worked to educate students on food systems through signage at the edible landscaping project, workshops/programs on food access in the Tiny House, documentary screenings and events at the Rad Dish Co-op Cafe. Examples of programming include a panel on black farmers, screening of Growing Cities at the Temple Community Garden Site, cooking demonstrations at the Rad Dish cafe, meet the roaster events, and more.
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:
University students, staff and faculty can meet with a nutritionist six times per year for free. The university nutritionist also leads guided tours through Fresh Grocer, the local grocery store, to teach students how to shop for healthy food on a budget.
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:
The dining services vendor keeps logs of its pre-consumer food waste and enters it into their corporate data tracking. The pre-consumer food waste is composted.
The university tracks its food waste diversion, and completes waste audits to determine the ability to additional 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:
Trays have been removed from all dining facilities on campus. The dining services provider uses strict portion sizing when serving.
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 university contracts with Waste Oil Recyclers to manage its cooking oil in all of its large scale dining facilities.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
Temple compost pre-consumer food waste at its two "all you care to eat" facilities, and its two large retail food courts. It is taken to a local farm 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:
Temple composts all post-consumer food waste generated in the Louis J. Esposito Dining Center. It is taken to a farm 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:
The The Louis J. Esposito Dining Center utilizes reusable service ware for all of its meals. The Morgan Hall dine-in option does not use reusable service ware.
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 dining services provider on campus provides a discount for reusable mugs.
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 university has a pallet recycling program with a local provider.
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:
Updated as of FY18.
Updated as of FY18.
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.