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

1209 resources

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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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 ...

  • Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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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
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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 ...

  • Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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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 ...

  • Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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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
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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 ...


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 ...


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 ...


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 ...

  • Posted Nov. 29, 2021
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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 ...

  • Posted Nov. 17, 2021
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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
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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
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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
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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 ...

  • Posted Nov. 15, 2021
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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 ...

  • Posted Nov. 15, 2021
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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
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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 ...

  • Posted Nov. 15, 2021
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Leftover Food App: A Way to Address Food Waste and Food Insecurity on Campus

  • Lehigh University (PA)

Every day departments, offices, and clubs hold events and meetings across campus with food. There is often leftover food at these events and meetings that gets thrown away. Lehigh University ...

  • Posted Nov. 15, 2021
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Cooking Evangelism in College Curriculum and Programs - A Pathway to a Sustainable Food Future

  • Appalachian State University (NC)

Many thought leaders and organizations have charted the path to a future sustainable food system, and most of these strategies require that we regain the essential skill of home cooking ...

  • Posted Nov. 15, 2021
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Fair Trade and Campus Advocacy as Tools for a Just Transition

  • 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. We partner with more ...

  • Posted Nov. 15, 2021
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FOO[anaerobic]D Systems: Food Justice and the Future of Our [anaerobic] Digestion Systems

  • University of Central Florida (FL)

A team of students from the University of Central Florida (UCF) have been working with campus, community, municipal, and private partners to pilot an anaerobic digestion (AD) system to divert ...

  • Posted Nov. 15, 2021
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Stories from the Real Meals Campaign: Student Organizers Building a Just Food System on Campus

  • Real Food Challenge (MA)

Students at campuses all across the country are building power to transform our current food system to one that is grounded in racial equity, justice, and dignity for us and ...

  • Posted Nov. 15, 2021
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Transitioning the Culinary Industry though Transformative Culinary Education

  • Johnson & Wales University, Providence (RI)

The foodservice industry is one of the most influential towards building a just and sustainable future. Food being the critical link, it is evident that culinary education programs in higher ...

  • Posted Nov. 15, 2021
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Innovation in Food System Funding - The New England Food Vision Prize for New England Campuses

  • Sodexo USA (MD)
  • Henry P. Kendall Foundation

In order to challenge and empower campus dining programs to become instruments of change in farm to institution, the Henry P. Kendall Foundation launched a new type of food system ...

  • Posted Nov. 15, 2021
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Cultivating Student and Staff Leaders through Campus Food Recovery Programs

  • University of California, Berkeley (CA)

As the awareness of food insecurity on college campuses increases, campus dining services are referred to as potential emergency relief for student food insecurity. Through food recovery programs, dining services ...

  • Posted Nov. 15, 2021
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UW-Stevens Point Organics Diversion Program

  • University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (WI)

The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) has been actively managing its organics for decades. Over the past 10 years, UWSP has managed upwards of 140,000 pounds of organics per ...

  • Posted Nov. 15, 2021
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Go DefaultVeg: Using Behavioral Nudges to Reduce Food-Related GHG Emissions at Your Institution

  • Harvard University (MA)
  • Better Food Foundation (DC)

Colleges and universities are increasingly attempting to measure and reduce their Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions. Among the largest contributors of Scope 3 emissions are transportation and food. In 2019 ...

  • Posted Nov. 15, 2021
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Transforming Your Supply Chain for a Sustainable Future

  • Aramark (PA)
  • Better Food Foundation (DC)
  • Harvest Table Culinary Group (PA)

Developing a resilient food system is a crucial task for de-escalating and reversing the interrelated social and ecological crises unfolding as a result of industrial scale animal agriculture. Universities and ...

  • Posted Nov. 15, 2021
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Michigan State University Brody Neighborhood Re-design and Innovative Future

  • Michigan State University (MI)

The Michigan State University (MSU) Division of Residential and Hospitality Services (RHS) is committed to ensuring long-term sustainability by recognizing and reducing our impacts on the planet. Through our programs ...

  • Posted Nov. 15, 2021
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Good Food, Good Data, Big Impact: Innovative Approaches to Capturing Farm to Institution Impact

  • Michigan State University (MI)
  • Real Food Challenge (MA)

Interest in purchasing and serving local foods in campus dining continues to grow, but documenting and quantifying the benefits and impacts of these purchases, including for local producers, is challenging ...

  • Posted Nov. 15, 2021
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Recycling Food Waste on the Fly: Using Black Soldier Fly to Recycle Food Waste at LSU

  • Louisiana State University (LA)

We would like to present on how LSU is using the Black Solider Fly insect to recycle the pre and post-consumer food waste from LSU, turning the waste into fertilizer ...

  • Posted Nov. 15, 2021
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Campus Farmers and Growers Networking Meeting

  • Loyola University Chicago (IL)
  • University of Utah (UT)
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI)

Join other campus farmers and food system advocates in creating a robust, interdisciplinary network of campus-based growers and partners at our second annual networking meeting. Find someone in your region ...

  • Posted Nov. 15, 2021
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#GCSHE 2021 Cookbook

  • AASHE (PA)

Do some cooking in the kitchen with AASHE’s first-ever, community-curated cookbook. Be careful, you may get hungry looking through all the great recipes. Happy cooking!


Comparison of Single-Use and Reusable Food Packaging Using a Life Cycle Assessment Approach

  • Michigan Technological University (MI)

This report was prepared by students at Michigan Technological University as part of the Consumer Product Manufacturing and Green Campus Enterprises to illustrate life cycle and sustabnibility by comparing single-use ...

  • Posted Oct. 22, 2021
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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

OP 8: Sustainable Dining

Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.

Food & Dining Partners