| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 54.78 |
| Liaison | Christa Rieck |
| Submission Date | Jan. 3, 2024 |
University of Houston
OP-8: Sustainable Dining
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.88 / 2.00 |
Elizabeth
Clark Sustainability Coordinator Facilities Planning |
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 University of Houston and Chartwells HigherEd partner to hold a farmers’ market on campus once per month. This market hosts nearly 30 vendors from Houston or other connecting cities. Vendors offer a variety of items including prepared foods, jewelry, clothing, crafts, produce, and beauty products.
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:
The Farmer’s Fridge, a smart fridge offering salads, grain bowls, breakfast items, and more, packages each food item in reusable, recyclable jars. In addition to fresh, plant-based, and whole foods fueling student and faculty members, unsold product is donated to the campus food pantry to combat food insecurity. Additionally, several stations at both dining halls offer vegan options as both a sustainability initiative, as well as to cater to customers who do not consume meat. What’s more, Dining rolled out the HowGood program this past year to educate guests about environmentally-conscientious meal options.
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:
UH Dining purchases bread products from Slow Dough, a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME). The campus farmers’ market also hosts a variety of SMEs and purchases leftover produce to serve within their dining halls. For cultural events, SMEs are contracted for décor and entertainment. Finally, some 9.25% of total purchases go to support Historically Underutilized 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:
During Earth Week, UH Dining hosted a plate waste audit, sustainability-themed farmers’ market, and “Carbon Foodprint” activity. They also promoted sustainable sourcing of aquatic species during National Seafood Month and FairTrade coffee during a Valentine’s “Delightful” event. They closed out the 2022-2023 academic year with a Stop Food Waste promotion. Additionally, the Dining team has shared on sustainable practices at a university lunch and learn, Hilton College Food Management class, and the Houston Early Research Experience. Regarding plant-forward menuing, vegan entrees are offered at each meal period to provide meat alternatives alongside an assortment of plant-based sides.
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:
UH Dining operates various stations throughout the week that solely focus on serving 100% plant-based dining options. This is to cater to customers that do not eat animal products and further sustainability efforts.
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:
UH Dining has signage for Green Restaurant Association certification, local purchasing, cage-free eggs, sustainable seafood, rBGH-free milk and yogurt, reduced antibiotic chicken and turkey, Fair trade coffee, and food donations. They also label vegan desserts, promote HowGood, and market vegan and vegetarian options within the dining halls and/or on their website.
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:
UH Dining employs WasteNot 2.0 as their waste management system, tracking the type of waste, amount, and final destination. Additionally, food waste is composted at Cougar Woods Dining Commons, diverting it from landfills
Additionally, Second Servings recovers unused food from residential providers across campus and donates to various shelters and organizations in the community.
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:
UH Dining uses reusable plates/cups/silverware in the dining halls. Menu forecasts are adjusted weekly to decrease overproduction. Additionally, UH Dining employs standardized recipes that promote specific serving sizes per student, in addition to offering smaller plates, in order to decrease over-portioning.
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:
In addition to donating to the Second Servings entity already mentioned, UH Dining also donates leftover product from its Farmers Fridge to the local food pantry, offers 200 free meal passes to food insecure guests, is exploring reestablishing donations with Food Recovery Network to distribute surplus retail product, and forthcoming, supporting local farmers by purchasing leftover product at farmers’ markets to either serve within dining halls or to donate to the Cougar Cupboard.
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:
UH Dining composts food waste within Cougar Woods Dining Commons. Composting includes: fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, meats, bones, paper products, and post-consumer composable products.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
Food waste/scraps from kitchen production in residential dining are composted
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
UH Dining composts all food waste in residential dining halls. Composting includes: fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, meats, bones and post-consumer composable products.
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:
UH Dining only uses reusable plates/cups/silverware for residential dining halls. Both dining halls are additionally Styrofoam and straw-free.
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:
UH Dining sources Mineral Filled Polypropylene to-go containers, reducing plastic waste by an average of 50%.
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:
A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
UH Dining also celebrates sustainability from a social responsibility perspective through the robust cultural series, wherein international and American celebrations, including Diwali, Hispanic Latin Heritage, and Lunar New Year, among others, are celebrated through food offerings and events on campus. This brings other cultures home to the States and bolsters student inclusion and success. With the diverse campus community represented at UH, the Dining team also proudly showcases these respective international flavors within dining halls, including an expansive halal program, Vegan / Vegetarian, Avoiding Gluten, and BalancedU, a heart health initiative.
UH Dining also has two FarmShelf units full of local produce and herbs, a water bottle filling station, promotes the use of refillable containers, recycling, and a data-driven carbon footprint tool. The latter, using detailed information on dining hours, equipment type/usage, and purchasing, calculates our carbon impact, permitting yet another platform for educating the wider community and measuring company sustainability goals.
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:
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.