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
Boston College Green Week: BC Dining Hosts Events to Promote Sustainability Initiatives
- Boston College (MA)
Each year, to celebrate Earth Day, Boston College clubs and organizations collaborate to host Green Week. With different events, pop-ups, and educational resources, students are able to see all of …
- Posted May 4, 2022
- Photographs
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sustainNU Hosts Reuse & Repair Fair
- Northwestern University (IL)
Northwestern's Office of Sustainability hosted a Repair and Reuse Fair featuring a variety of on-campus and local vendors, including a local bike shop, clothing mending organization, tool library, zero-waste small …
- Posted May 4, 2022
- Photographs
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CFR 7/22 Higher Education Webinar: Campus Sustainability and Climate Change Mitigation
- Mount Holyoke College (MA)
V.S. “Raghu” Raghavan, director of sustainability and associate director of the Miller Worley Center for the Environment at Mount Holyoke College, discusses actions campuses can take toward greater sustainability and …
- Posted May 2, 2022
- Videos & Webinars
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Earth Conscious Menu at JMU Senior Symposium Event
- James Madison University (VA)
On Earth Day, students in JMU's School of Integrated Sciences presented their work at the annual Senior Symposium. This year, the SIS Senior Symposium was recognized by JMU's Institute for …
- Posted May 2, 2022
- Photographs
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JMU Geography Students Celebrate 10 Years of Gardening at Local Elementary School
- James Madison University (VA)
JMU Geography faculty and students celebrated Earth Day with students from an elementary school in Harrisonburg, Virginia as a continuation of 10 years of gardening together. Dr. Amy Goodall and …
- Posted May 2, 2022
- Photographs
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Queens College Reduces Single-Use Plastics In Our Dining Halls
- City University of New York, Queens College (NY)
Queens College, a college within the City University of New York system, recently launched an initiative to reduce single-use plastics in our campus dining halls. Our food servicer, Mangia Fresca, …
- Posted May 2, 2022
- Photographs
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A Food-Themed Cross-Disciplinary Faculty-Staff Learning Community Enriches Place-Based Experiential Learning Curricula
- Butler University (IN)
- Indiana University Indianapolis (IN)
- Indiana University
This document contains instructional resources to facilitate an 8-month Faculty-Staff Learning Community (FSLC) focused on learning and discussion to support the creation of campus farm-situated place-based experiential learning (PBEL) lessons …
- Posted April 25, 2022
- Course Materials
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Neumann University Earth Day Events
- Neumann University (PA)
Neumann University's Earth Day events started with a mass outside in the Rose Garden. We also had a demonstration of mat weaving recycling plastic bags to give to homeless people …
- Posted April 25, 2022
- Photographs
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Sport Goals Are Sustainably Goals
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville (TN)
The University of Tennessee Knoxville's football stadium has a capacity of 102k fans. With the amount of fans each game brings, there is bound to be a lot of waste, …
- Posted April 18, 2022
- Photographs
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Creating Effective Waste Bin Signage
- University of Texas at Austin (TX)
A University of Texas at Austin Zero Waste Working Group used a comprehensive process including signage studies, waste composition data, and a progression of testing to design a new campus-wide …
- Posted March 10, 2022
- Case Studies
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EPA P3 Funded Project to Build App to Address Food Waste and Insecurity on College Campuses
- Baldwin Wallace University (OH)
- AASHE (MA)
Food waste and insecurity are significant issues with the national average of food insecurity standing at approximately 28% on college campuses. Our student population matches that figure based on a …
- Posted Feb. 17, 2022
- Videos & Webinars
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Williams College Reusable To-Go Ware Case Study
- Williams College (MA)
This reusable container program was rolled out when students returned to campus in the Fall of 2020 and was proposed with both sustainability and cost savings in mind. What differentiates …
- Posted Feb. 1, 2022
- Case Studies
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Zero Waste Networking Meeting
- Post-Landfill Action Network (NH)
This is a meetup for all students, staff, companies, and professionals that are working on campus Zero Waste efforts. Whether you're helping your campus achieve Zero Waste goals, or focusing …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
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Fostering a Collaborative Work Environment for Food Sustainability
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI)
This session hopes to encourage higher education institutions to incorporate a collaborative lens for new sustainability initiatives in order to address student turnover, communication challenges, and partnerships between student leaders …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
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How Fair Trade Campuses are Collaborating to Amplify Their Impact
- University at Albany (NY)
- University of California, Riverside (CA)
- Fair Trade Colleges & Universities
Fair Trade Campaigns is a powerful grassroots movement mobilizing thousands of conscious consumers and Fair Trade advocates on campuses and in communities across the U.S. Our Fair Trade Colleges & …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
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Amplifying Our Voices: Aligning Food Procurement Standards in a New Era
- Real Food Challenge (MA)
Anchors in Action (AiA) alliance is a national cross-sector partnership among Center for Good Food Purchasing, Health Care Without Harm, and Real Food Challenge. Together these groups represent hospitals, school …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
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What the Fork: A Case Study in Bioplastics
- University of Arizona (AZ)
The University of Arizona Compost Cats was founded in 2011 by a small group of students with a mission to divert food waste from the Student Unions away from local …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
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Conducting Campus Dining Operations Successfully in the Middle of a Pandemic
- Mount Holyoke College (MA)
Mount Holyoke College started tracking food waste with the Leanpath food waste prevention system in October of 2019. With the onset of the Covid 19 pandemic in early 2020 the …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
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A Tectonic Shift in Dining Services: Brandeis' New Metrics for Advancing Sustainability Through Food
- Brandeis University (MA)
- Sodexo USA (MD)
In the year leading up to the covid-19 crisis, Brandeis University was busy preparing an RFP for a new dining vendor. This presented a pivotal opportunity to incorporate sustainability in …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
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Fun with Food Systems: Creative Ways to Increase Food Sovereignty and Build Community Remotely
- Portland Community College (OR)
Food shortages skyrocketed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and community college students were notably affected. Normal campus supports such as in-person food pantries, learning gardens, and our campus …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
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Assessing Food Security in Higher Education
- Arizona State University (AZ)
- Michigan State University (MI)
Food security exists when all people in a community, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
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A Zero Waste Campus Is Possible
- Post-Landfill Action Network (NH)
In this workshop we will facilitate a discussion around how students can lead specific efforts to solve waste issues on their campuses. We start with a short presentation on the …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
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Implementation of a Single-Use Plastics Ban: Navigating Contracts, Procurement, and Outreach
- University of California, Office of the President (CA)
In 2020, the UC system passed a single-use plastics policy that aims to greatly reduce plastics on campuses and health systems. The policy went into effect in 2021, starting with …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
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Food Waste and Food Insecurity: A Multidimensional Approach With Three Pillars of Sustainability
- University of Kentucky (KY)
Food insecurity, a growing concern due to unsustainable and unjust food systems, has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic whereas food waste issues remained prevalent. The pandemic has disproportionately affected …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
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The Carbon and Nitrogen Footprint of Food
- Stanford University (CA)
- University of New Hampshire (NH)
Food purchasing can be a significant component of campus carbon and nitrogen footprints. SIMAP (unhsimap.org) is a web-based campus footprint tool that calculates the carbon and nitrogen emissions from food …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
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Expanding Sustainability: Using Food Procurement to Help Poultry Workers (through a new consortium)
- Georgetown University (DC)
- University of California, Office of the President (CA)
- University of Michigan (MI)
Many colleges and universities are working on sustainable procurement goals, but how many of us have looked at social sustainability and the impact of our procurement on workers? During the …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
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Analyzing the University of Oregon's 30 Years of Detailed Data: Where We've Been and What's Next
- University of Oregon (OR)
Analyzing nearly 30 years of University of Oregon's solid waste data reveals changes in behaviors and material streams. Specific policy changes are reflected in the waste streams too. We also …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
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The People's Fridge: Redistributing Surplus Food and Reducing Food Insecurity
- University of California, Merced (CA)
The People's Fridge is a plant-based community fridge in Merced County with the dual aims of redistributing surplus food and reducing food insecurity. The pandemic further increased food insecurity in …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
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Supporting a Circular Food Economy: Converting Inedible Scraps Into Renewable Energy and Beneficial Fertilizer
- Kent State University (OH)
- InSinkErator (WI)
- Quasar Energy Group (OH)
More than one third of the food produced today is lost or wasted, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Here in the United States, the …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
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FEAST Fund
- Butler University (IN)
Food Enterprises Achieve Sustainability Together- FEAST Fund supported by Bon Appetit, Butler's food service provider:
This fund allow Butler University and Bon Appetit to achieve our shared sustainability goals through …
- Posted Jan. 5, 2022
- Green Funds
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Place Setting: Enhancing sustainable approaches to food security & community engagement through design of space
- University of Kentucky (KY)
The Campus Kitchen at the University of Kentucky (CKUK) is a student-led service organization that is a partner agency of God’s Pantry Food Bank within the Feeding America’s network. Housed …
- Posted Jan. 3, 2022
- Case Studies
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CSUF Food Pantry
- California State University, Fullerton (CA)
Addressing food insecurity among college students has been a CSU system-wide effort for a number of years. The Pantry is a new and permanent program to the CSUF campus that …
- Posted Dec. 9, 2021
- Photographs
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Our Changing Menu: Climate change and the foods we love and need
- Cornell University (NY)
We tell the climate change story through something we encounter and communicate about every day. It is imbedded in our cultures and family histories, and we love and need it—food. …
- Posted Nov. 29, 2021
- Publications
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Food at the University of Michigan: A Report Developed for and Supported by the U-M President's Commission on Carbon Neutrality
- University of Michigan (MI)
This report was compiled during the academic year of 2019-2020 for the University of Michigan (U-M) President's Commission on Carbon Neutrality by the Food Internal Analysis Team. Through its work, …
- Posted Nov. 17, 2021
- Publications
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Pandemic as Opportunity to Strengthen Campus Food Resources and Address Food Insecurity
- University of the Pacific (CA)
Prior to the pandemic, efforts to co-brand food-related resources: a garden, food pantry and kitchen, as a strategy for addressing food security had begun. There were also plans for assessing …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
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We are Uprooted and Rising: The Fight for Food Sovereignty in Higher Ed
- Real Food Challenge (MA)
What does it look like to have a future that nourishes and sustains all of us for generations to come? How can colleges and universities support that future for their …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
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Creating Cultures of Equitable Belonging Using our Food Systems as the Galvanizing Frame
- University of New Hampshire (NH)
For the past five years, Food Solutions New England has hosted the 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge that has inspired thousands to learn, reflect and act in service of …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
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Revolutionizing Campus Dining: Reducing Waste and Connecting with Staff
- University of California, Berkeley (CA)
Dining halls play a critical role in meeting UC Berkeley's ambitious goal of Zero Waste by 2020. Reevaluating the products we use, prioritizing sustainable purchasing, and reducing food waste are …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
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Enhancing Sustainable Approaches to Food Security and Community Engagement through Design of Space
- University of Kentucky (KY)
The Campus Kitchen at the University of Kentucky (CKUK) is a student-led service organization that is a partner agency of God's Pantry Food Bank within the Feeding America's Network. In …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
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Using Local Food Systems and Justice Issues to teach Sustainability
- Eureka College (IL)
For two years, I have taught an upper-level seminar in Environmental Studies on Local Food Systems and Justice issues that also meets a gen ed requirement for undergraduates in Sustainable …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
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Using the Real Food Database in Food Procurement
- Real Food Challenge (MA)
What food products are Real? Which vendors are verified as fair, ecological, and/or humane? Now, institutions can find out through the Real Food Database! Compiled from years of research done …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
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Hungry Minds: Fighting Food Insecurity on College Campuses
- Compass Group (NC)
Food insecurity, a condition of limited or uncertain access to nutritional foods, is a growing problem on college campuses across the nation. While a 2017 study showed nearly 12% of …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
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Food Waste Reduction Initiatives at the University of North Carolina Asheville
- University of North Carolina, Asheville (NC)
Minimizing food waste is an integral part of the dining experience at the University of North Carolina Asheville. Campus programs include eco-clamshell 'takeout' containers, waste diversion campaigns, partnerships with local …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
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Examining the Transition to a More Regenerative Growing System
- Knox College (IL)
The Knox campus farm, established in 2014, has historically focused on vegetable production for our campus dining services. In the past year, our focus has shifted to more regenerative practices …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
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Food Waste Warriors: Combating Food Waste with Strong Relationships and Education
- University of North Carolina, Asheville (NC)
Through strong partnerships with community members both on and off campus, UNC Asheville Dining Services continues to reduce waste, while increasing educational opportunities around food waste. UNC Asheville Dining Services …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
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Looking ahead to 2030: Updating the University of California Sustainable Food Policy
- University of California, Office of the President (CA)
- University of California, Berkeley (CA)
In 2009, the University of California (UC) developed a goal to meet 20% sustainable food by 2020, asking each UC campus to integrate sustainable food into their menus while remaining …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
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Food Sustainability Beyond the Dining Halls
- College of William & Mary (VA)
In recent years, William & Mary has made some great advances in sustainability throughout the dining halls. However, there are also a lot of functions involving food that happen away …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
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Feeding the Campus Community & Beyond Through On-Site Agriculture
- Green Building Initiative (OR)
On campus agriculture presents students, faculty and staff the opportunity to provide for their community as well as contribute to transitioning from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy. As …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
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Taste Not Waste: A Campus-Wide Initiative to Take a Bite out of Food Waste
- Concordia College - Moorhead (MN)
America is experiencing a food waste crisis, with an estimated 30-40 percent of the food supply, approximately 35 million tons annually, never eaten. Wholesome food that could have helped feed …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
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Own Your own Backyard: Farm to Keg
- Grand Valley State University (MI)
This presentation will be a reflective narrative of multiple voices from a research project intended to assess the transformational learning of students engaged in a partnership between Grand Valley State …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
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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.