Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 62.54
Liaison Lisa Noriega
Submission Date Sept. 21, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Yale University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Melissa Goodall
Associate Director
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a published sustainable dining policy?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainable dining policy:

The policy is outlined here: http://hospitality.yale.edu/sustainability


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor source food from a campus garden or farm?:
Yes

A brief description of the program to source food from a campus garden or farm:

Yale is an urban campus, but we are able to use goods from our on-campus gardens for periodic events.


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?:
Yes

A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:

Yale Hospitality offers a seasonal "UnCommon Market," which provides healthy foods at low prices to members of the Yale community.


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?:
Yes

A brief description of the vegan dining program:

Yale Hospitality's extensive offerings and sophisticated Plant-based Protein Development Initiative set a standard seldom matched in the campus-dining marketplace. Vegan and vegetarian options are offered at every meal, every day.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events (e.g. Meatless Mondays)?:
Yes

A brief description of the low impact dining events:

Individual colleges choose their focus. Some promote Meatless Mondays and others Vegan Vendnesdays.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host sustainability-themed meals (e.g. local harvest dinners)?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-themed meals:

This is done in-season for special occasions. We also have had events called "Shake the Hand that Feeds You" where local farmers come have dinner with the students in each dining hall, with a menu featuring something from every farm represented.


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?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:

All of our retail locations offer healthy, low-impact choices. Thaine Café is specifically sustainability-themed.


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?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability labeling and signage in dining halls:

Yale Hospitality uses the residential dining units as an opportunity to further inform Yale students about the sustainable purchasing practices that have gone into their meals, and how they can make their own contributions to food sustainability. These campaigns introduced trayless dining, explain the compost and recycling bins, and encourage students to “Erase the Waste”. The “More This, Less That” campaign promoted eating more fruits and vegetables while eating less animal protein.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor engage in outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems?:
Yes

A brief description of the outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems:

In addition to the two on-campus "farms" Yale offers pre-semester experiences on organic farms. Every fall semester, Yale Hospitality gives students the opportunity to visit local farms that supply to Yale Hospitality produce distributor. Students get to learn from the farm operators about GAP certification, IPM practices, and sustainable agricultural practices.


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)?:
Yes

A brief description of the other sustainability-related dining initiatives:

In addition to the two on-campus "farms" Yale offers pre-semester experiences on organic farms. Every fall semester, Yale Hospitality gives students the opportunity to visit local farms that supply to Yale Hospitality produce distributor. Students get to learn from the farm operators about GAP certification, IPM practices, and sustainable agricultural practices.


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?:
Yes

A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:

Yale Hospitality is currently testing Phood (similar to Leanpath) in several dining halls and is working with the developer to integrate this in the existing menu management software to insure that the data is used in meaningful way.


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?:
Yes

A brief description of the trayless dining or modified menu/portion program:

Yale has had trayless dining for several years.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor donate food that would otherwise go to waste to feed people?:
Yes

A brief description of the food donation program:

Yale Hospitality donates food when possible to the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen in New Haven and has been publicly recognized for this service.


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)?:
Yes

A brief description of the food materials diversion program:

Yale is committed to pre- and post-consumption composting, and all of Yale Dining’s cooking is oil is recycled into biodiesel. Single-stream recycling bins are in every dining location. When disposable plates, cups, and utensils are required, Yale Hospitality uses biodegradable products that can be composted along with food.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
Yes

A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:

Over 95% of pre- and post-consumer waste from dining halls, retail locations, and catering events is also composted.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
Yes

A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:

Over 95% of pre- and post-consumer waste from dining halls, retail locations, and catering events is also composted.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor utilize reusable service ware for “dine in” meals?:
Yes

A brief description of the reusable service ware program:

Reusable service ware is utilized in the dining halls; when not used, biodegradable products are available.


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)?:
Yes

A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:

Reusable containers are available in some facilities, and all retail outlets "to go" containers are certified compostable.


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?:
No

A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
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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)?:
Yes

A brief description of other dining services materials management initiatives:

Yale has worked with vendors to streamline deliveries to campus, which has resulted in fewer trucks on campus as well as less packaging.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
http://hospitality.yale.edu/sustainability

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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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.