Food & Dining
Introduction
Modern industrial food production often has deleterious environmental and social impacts. Institutions can use their food purchases to support their local economies; encourage safe, environmentally friendly and humane farming methods; and help eliminate unsafe working conditions and alleviate poverty for farmers. These actions help reduce environmental impacts, preserve regional farmland, improve local food security, and support fair and resilient food systems. Dining services can also support sustainable food systems by preventing food waste and diverting food materials from the waste stream, by making low impact dining options available, and by educating its customers about more sustainable options and practices.
Featured Resources
Latest News from AASHE Bulletin
New Resources
University at Albany Harvest Festival
- University at Albany (NY)
This photo depicts students from the Office of Sustainability tabling at the Office of Residential Life's annual Harvest Festival, which celebrates local food and healthy eating.
- Posted Sept. 12, 2016
- Photographs
- View more
University of Washington Housing & Food Services - Cultivate Restaurant
- University of Washington, Seattle (WA)
At the University of Washington’s Cultivate Restaurant in Elm Hall, the dining team is pleased to present a pan-seared and citrus butter-basted wild-caught Alaskan salmon. The restaurant is a member …
- Posted Sept. 12, 2016
- Photographs
- View more
2016 LIU Post Sustainability Award Recipients
- LIU Post (NY)
This is a photo of LIU Post's 2016 campus sustainability award recipients and our guest speaker, L. Hunter Lovins. Each spring, LIU Post hosts a sustainability banquet to showcase successes …
- Posted Sept. 12, 2016
- Photographs
- View more
SMC - Wellbeing & Work (SCI Index)
- Saint Mary's College of California (CA)
The Legacy Garden is a space on campus where both students and employees visit and volunteer. The 3,200 lbs of produce produced annually is entirely consumed by students and staff …
- Posted Sept. 12, 2016
- Photographs
- View more
Working with vegetables, mulch and compost at the Guilford College Farm
- Guilford College (NC)
- Posted Sept. 9, 2016
- Photographs
- View more
Sterling College is the #1 campus for the Real Food Challenge
- Sterling College (VT) (VT)
Executive Chef Simeon Bittman (left), community member Lydia Jones (center), and student Alice Haskins '16 work together to test a recipe for braised cabbage as part of the Human Nutrition …
- Posted Sept. 6, 2016
- Photographs
- View more
Big Red Buyer's Club
- Denison University (OH)
- Bon Appétit Management Company
The Big Red Buyers Club was created at Denison University In an effort to support local producers and to connect faculty, students, and staff with high quality, local and responsibly …
- Posted Sept. 6, 2016
- Photographs
- View more
Student Beekeepers: Almost as Busy as Bees
- Colorado Mountain College (CO)
This photograph was taken on April 22 (Earth Day!), 2016. It shows members of the Beekeeping Club at Colorado Mountain College in Steamboat Springs tending their bees and teaching students …
- Posted Sept. 6, 2016
- Photographs
- View more
Universities and Sustainable Food Practices: An International Comparison Along the Pacific Coast of North America
- University of California, Santa Barbara (CA)
- University of Alaska Anchorage (AK)
- Western Kentucky University (KY)
- University of British Columbia (BC)
My research project examined sustainable practices in relation to food sources at three universities located along the Pacific Coast of North America. The academic institutions were the University of Alaska …
- Posted Sept. 6, 2016
- Publications
- View more
Dual Major in EcoGastronomy
- University of New Hampshire (NH)
The Dual Major in EcoGastronomy prepares students for professions within the rapidly evolving food community—from farm to fork to nutrition and health outcomes. The Dual Major integrates University of New …
- Posted Aug. 23, 2016
- Academic Programs
- View more
Green cities and ivory towers: how do higher education sustainability initiatives shape millennials’ consumption practices?
- University of Michigan (MI)
College-educated millennials, motivated by a preference for vibrant, walkable neighborhoods with access to good public transportation, are helping to drive an economic resurgence in many American cities. At the same …
- Posted Aug. 22, 2016
- Publications
- View more
AS in Sustainable Food and Farming
- University of Massachusetts Amherst (MA)
The 60-credit Associate of Science degree offers a program of study for those who wish to practice agriculture but are not quite ready to make a commitment to the B.S. …
- Posted Aug. 22, 2016
- Academic Programs
- View more
Permaculture Design Certificate
- Oregon State University (OR)
Students develop a sustainable landscape using permaculture methods through this online, instructor-led certificate program offered by Professional and Continuing Education at Oregon State University. All students complete regenerative landscape projects …
- Posted Aug. 22, 2016
- Academic Programs
- View more
Permaculture Design Certificate
- Gateway Technical College (WI)
This course will teach participants techniques to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and will increase the long-term sustainability of their homes and communities. Students will learn ecological principles needed to …
- Posted Aug. 22, 2016
- Academic Programs
- View more
Certificate in Holistic Landscape Design
- Bastyr University (WA)
Bastyr's Certificate in Holistic Landscape Design offers training for those who want to build upon their knowledge of medicinal and edible plants and apply that expertise by developing sustainable landscapes. …
- Posted Aug. 22, 2016
- Academic Programs
- View more
Permaculture Design: Practicum
- Cornell University (NY)
This 4.5-week online course provides an opportunity for students to build their knowledge about permaculture and ecological design. Participants will explore the content through videos, readings, and activities and complete …
- Posted Aug. 22, 2016
- Academic Programs
- View more
Permaculture Design: Ecosystem Mimicry
- Cornell University (NY)
This 6.5-week online course provides an opportunity for students to build their knowledge about permaculture and ecological design. Participants will explore the content through videos, readings, and activities and complete …
- Posted Aug. 22, 2016
- Academic Programs
- View more
Permaculture: Fundamentals of Ecological Design
- Cornell University (NY)
This 6.5-week online course provides an opportunity for students to build their knowledge about permaculture and ecological design. Participants will explore the content through videos, readings, and activities and complete …
- Posted Aug. 22, 2016
- Academic Programs
- View more
Water bottle ban a success; bottled beverage sales have plummeted
- Washington University in St. Louis (MO)
Sales of bottled beverages at Washington University in St. Louis have plummeted 39 percent since 2009, when the university became the first in the nation to ban the sale of …
- Posted Aug. 19, 2016
- Publications
- View more
A Sustainable Campus: The Sydney Declaration on Interspecies Sustainability
- University of Canterbury
- University of Technology Sydney
- University of Sydney (NSW)
Under the remit of an expanded definition of sustainability – one that acknowledges animal agriculture as a key carbon intensive industry, and one that includes interspecies ethics as an integral …
- Posted July 5, 2016
- Publications
- View more
UT Farm Stand
- University of Texas at Austin (TX)
UT Farm Stand is a student-led project that provides local and organic fresh foods to the University of Texas at Austin students, faculty, and staff. Our mission is focused on …
- Posted June 16, 2016
- Case Studies
- View more
Rescued Food Feast
- Arizona State University (AZ)
- Aramark (PA)
The Rescued Food Feast was an event held at Arizona State University and was a collaboration between the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability, Aramark Higher Education, Sprouts Farmers …
- Posted June 11, 2016
- Case Studies
- View more
UCLA is the Largest Public University in the U.S. to achieve Fair Trade Status
- University of California, Los Angeles (CA)
- Fair Trade Colleges & Universities
University of California, Los Angeles, part of a national initiative by Fair Trade Campaigns to engage college/university students in issues of global poverty, officially received designation as a Fair Trade …
- Posted June 11, 2016
- Case Studies
- View more
RIT FoodShare
- Rochester Institute of Technology (NY)
RIT FoodShare is an initiative on the RIT campus that has been established to address food insecurity and food waste. It is both a campus food pantry and a facebook …
- Posted June 10, 2016
- Case Studies
- View more
Integrated educational food garden and composting
- California State University, Northridge (CA)
Striving towards zero waste and with a close-the-loop philosophy, CSUN students are diverting over 35,000 pounds of pre-consumer waste/year and turning it back into food via an on campus compost …
- Posted June 10, 2016
- Case Studies
- View more
Plant-Powered Dining @ Cornell University
- Cornell University (NY)
Student Sustainability coordinators sought to do something in line with these initiatives at Cornell. Many universities have adopted versions of a “Meatless Monday” program, or have an all-vegetarian dining hall. …
- Posted June 10, 2016
- Case Studies
- View more
Composting for a Greener Campus: the Texas State University Bobcat Blend program
- Texas State University, San Marcos (TX)
Bobcat Blend is a faculty managed, student-run and grant-supported research and teaching-oriented waste management campus composting program at Texas State University. The goals of the organization are to teach students, …
- Posted June 10, 2016
- Case Studies
- View more
UW–Madison Receipt Reduction Project
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI)
Over a span of two years, teams of students, faculty, and staff at the University of Wisconsin–Madison eliminated mandatory receipt printing at campus dining centers, restaurants, markets, and cafes. Within …
- Posted June 10, 2016
- Case Studies
- View more
Bagging the Disposable Plastic Bag
- Case Western Reserve University (OH)
- Bon Appétit Management Company
The Student Sustainability Council at Case Western Reserve University removed disposable plastic bags from campus dining locations and replaced them with reusable bags.
- Posted June 10, 2016
- Case Studies
- View more
Brown's- A California Cafe
- University of California, Berkeley (CA)
This August, Cal Dining opened brown’s- a california café. By design, over 80% of the ingredients used are sourced locally from within 250 miles of the UC Berkeley campus and …
- Posted June 10, 2016
- Case Studies
- View more
The Learning Garden at Virginia Commonwealth University
- Virginia Commonwealth University (VA)
Virginia Commonwealth University's Office of Sustainability has created a new, urban, Learning Garden that produces fruits and vegetables exclusively for donation. The garden was created in response to a significant …
- Posted June 10, 2016
- Case Studies
- View more
CPS Café – Sustainable Food Service Operation
- University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (WI)
The CPS Café is an eatery operated mainly by students across campus and is a unique food service business open to the public. It is a program within the College …
- Posted June 9, 2016
- Case Studies
- View more
Green Restaurant Certification for Dining Halls and Restaurants
- Green Restaurant Association (MA)
Search over 500 restaurants to view the thousands of green steps they have implemented. Review the Green Restaurant® Education Section. Use the standards as a guidelines to help you make …
- Posted June 9, 2016
- Tools
- View more
Development of a Novel Food Waste Collection Kiosk and Waste-to-Energy Business Model
- University of Toledo (OH)
The US generates more than 37 million metric tons of food waste each year and over 95% of it is disposed of at US landfills. This paper describes the development …
- Posted June 9, 2016
- Publications
- View more
Love Food, Hate Waste: Analyzing Food Waste and Reduction at Rice University
- Rice University (TX)
It is known that about 30% of food produced worldwide is ultimately wasted (Gunders 2012). Rice University is not immune to this phenomenon, and past research has shown that Rice …
- Posted June 7, 2016
- Publications
- View more
Quantifying the components of the mass and energy balance of a black soldier fly (BSF) food waste composting system
- Rochester Institute of Technology (NY)
Project Description:
An academic institution represents a constrained system that generates a consistent amount of waste. Bioconversion of organic food waste with Black solider fly (Hermetia illucens;Diptera: Stratiomyidae) larave …
- Posted June 6, 2016
- Publications
- View more
It’s What’s for Dinner: Furman University’s Sustainable Dining Initiative
- Furman University (SC)
The majority of the food in the United States is produced via an industrial food production and distribution system, which is inherently unsustainable due to its widespread environmental (e.g., fossil …
- Posted June 6, 2016
- Publications
- View more
Sustainable Carolina Farm and Garden Hydroponics
- University of South Carolina (SC)
Sustainable Carolina is a student run organization within the University of South Carolina, working to better our campus by making it more sustainable. We work with students, staff, professors, and …
- Posted June 6, 2016
- Case Studies
- View more
Promotion vs. Education in Choosing "Real Food"
- University of Utah (UT)
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI)
- Real Food Challenge (MA)
The global agro-industrial system contributes to an abundance of human and ecological health problems from social injustices and public health issues to global warming and ecological degradation. In response to …
- Posted June 6, 2016
- Publications
- View more
Unifying Campus Efforts in Pursuit of Green Restaurant Certification at UC Irvine's East Food Court
- University of California, Irvine (CA)
UC Irvine's East Food Court became a Certified Green Restaurant on November 5, 2015 and upgraded its certification from 2-Star to 3-Star on April 22, 2016 through significant interdepartmental collaborations …
- Posted June 6, 2016
- Case Studies
- View more
Boston University Zero Waste Commencement
- Aramark (PA)
Boston University is a private research institution located in Boston, Massachusetts with approximately 33,000 undergradate and graduate students. During Commencement week, Boston University Dining Services/Aramark serves more than 40,000 patrons …
- Posted June 6, 2016
- Case Studies
- View more
What’s Wrong with the Tap? Examining Perceptions of Tap Water and Bottled Water at Purdue University
- Saint Mary's University of Minnesota (MN)
- Purdue University (IN)
The environmental impacts of bottled water prompted us to explore drinking water choices at Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, IN. A random sample of 2,045 Purdue University students, staff, …
- Posted June 3, 2016
- Publications
- View more
UNT Community Garden
- University of North Texas (TX)
University of North Texas' first on-campus community garden is in the final stages of planning, with construction begining this fall, in a vacant lot next to the Legends hall, just …
- Posted June 3, 2016
- Case Studies
- View more
Black Hills Food Hub
- Black Hills State University (SD)
Black Hills State University (BHSU) and Spearfish community partners are seeking to create a culture that supports and values local food in order to expand the reach and depth of …
- Posted June 3, 2016
- Case Studies
- View more
Smokey's Pantry: A FISH Hospitality Pantry
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville (TN)
Erica Davis, a senior at the University of Tennessee, spearheaded a food recovery project called Smokey’s Pantry. This project provided groceries recovered from various sources and distributed them to families …
- Posted June 2, 2016
- Case Studies
- View more
The Real Food Challenge at Lehigh University
- Lehigh University (PA)
The Real Food Challenge (RFC) is a national student run campaign to encourage campuses to increase the ratio of food purchased from “conventional” to “real food”. At Lehigh, the Office …
- Posted June 2, 2016
- Case Studies
- View more
Campus greenhouse for local and sustainable tropical food production and education at Bellairs Research Institute
- McGill University (QC)
The Bellairs facility is located at Folkestone, Barbados. It hosts many students and scientists from McGill and around the world for field courses, workshops and research projects. This project's goal …
- Posted June 2, 2016
- Case Studies
- View more
Leading by Collaboration: Institutional composting on a non-residential campus
- Johnson County Community College (KS)
JCCC's composting initiatives have changed operational practices and enriched campus culture in many ways. Those directly involved in our composting work are passionate about reducing food waste, handling it appropriately, …
- Posted June 1, 2016
- Case Studies
- View more
Gaucho Certified Farmers Market
- University of California, Santa Barbara (CA)
In the Fall of 2014, myself and a group of 5 other faculty members founded the first ever successful farmers market on the UC Santa Barbara campus.
The project was …
- Posted June 1, 2016
- Case Studies
- View more
UIC Heritage Garden
- University of Illinois Chicago (IL)
The Heritage Garden at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is a hands-on learning project with an internship program where students work with faculty, staff, and community members to …
- Posted May 31, 2016
- Case Studies
- View more
This tab provides access to data collected through AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS). STARS is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. STARS enables meaningful comparisons over time and across institutions using a common set of measurements developed with broad participation from the campus sustainability community.
All responses reference content from reports under the latest version of STARS, version 2.2. AASHE membership and log-in is required.
OP 7: Food and Beverage Purchasing
- Percent of sustainably or ethically produced food and beverage expenditures
- Percent of plant-based food expenditures
- Sustainable food and beverage purchasing inventory
- Description of the sustainable food and beverage purchasing program
- Website URL - Sustainable food and beverage purchasing
OP 8: Sustainable Dining
- Description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project
- Description of the sustainability-themed food outlet
- Description of the support for disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs
- Description of low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options
- Description of the vegan dining program
- Description of sustainability labelling and signage in dining halls
- Description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system
- Description of the trayless dining or modified menu/portion program
- Description of the food donation program
- Description of the food materials diversion program
- Description of the pre-consumer composting program
- Description of the post-consumer composting program
- Description of the reusable serviceware program
- Description of the compostable materials and serviceware program
- Description of the reusable container discount or incentives program
- Website URL - Sustainable dining programs
Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.