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

Setup a Food Hub as a Community Resilience Tool

  • Black Hills State University (SD)
  • AASHE (PA)

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 Nov. 15, 2018
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Building an Open Source Food Recovery Website: Pairing University Dining Halls With Shelters

  • University of Washington, Seattle (WA)

About one-third of food is wasted globally each year (Smith). Further, 30-40% of all food in the U.S. goes uneaten each year, resulting in 133 billion pounds of waste ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
  • Conference Presentations
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College & University Recycling Coalition (CURC) Membership Meeting

  • University of South Carolina (SC)

Members and non-members alike are invited to join this annual CURC membership meeting. Board members will provide organizational updates, discuss current projects, and share opportunities to get involved. The meeting ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Rebel Rot: An Engineering Capstone Project to Convert a Dumpster into an In-Vessel Composter

  • University of Nevada Las Vegas (NV)

Building off a past AASHE presentation (2017) by Dr. Brian Barnes from the University of Louisville, the University of Nevada Las Vegas Sustainability Coordinator partnered with the College of Engineering ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Can You Dig It?: Integrating Vermicomposting at UC Berkeley

  • University of California, Berkeley (CA)

Our project was initially inspired by the work in progress at the CSU - Sacramento Sustainable Technology Optimization Research Center (STORC). They are implementing a new processing system for their campus ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Building on Your Institutional Strengths to Reduce Food Waste

  • Unity Environmental University (ME)

Unity College had a small scale limited food waste collection system in the dining halls on campus. By working with a local partner, the food waste that could be collected ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Composting and Organics Collection: Is it Happening On Your Campus?

  • University of Arizona (AZ)
  • US Composting Council (MD)

University and college campuses across the nation are increasingly adding food scraps collection and, often, the operation of compost or anaerobic digestion facilities to their 'green' portfolio to achieve STARS ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Reducing Odorous Emissions from Compost With Bio Filters

  • Thompson Rivers University (BC)

In 2014 Thompson Rivers University published its campus Sustainability Action plan that identified priorities to become a green campus. Zero waste was identified as a major priority, including the capturing ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Zero-Waste Initiative: Composting at Events

  • University of Arizona (AZ)

Public events tend to be extremely wasteful. When a county fair, culinary festival, fundraising campaign, or community garden potluck are organized, the overall aim is to create an enjoyable atmosphere ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Lessons From the Compost Pile: a Facilitated Conversation About Campus Compost Initiatives

  • University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI)

This meeting will focus on institutional compost collection and processing systems. It will be an opportunity to share experiences, ask questions, and connect with others engaged in campus composting efforts ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Automated Gardening System with Solar Integration

  • Carnegie Mellon University (PA)

Industrialized agriculture has benefitted our society by feed billions but is also adding a burden to the environment. Inefficient watering techniques and indiscriminate use of chemicals in much of today ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Intersections of Food Waste, Hunger, and Spectrums of Homelessness, Abuse, and Addiction

  • University of Utah (UT)
  • Chartwells Higher Education (NY)

Homeless adults have disproportionate rates of chronic diet-related diseases, food security, rates of obesity, as well as co-morbidities such as diabetes. The outlook is even worse for children and youth ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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SDG2: Global Challenge, Local Solutions Powered by Penn State University Food Security Initiatives

  • Pennsylvania State University (PA)

With the mission of creating hunger-free and healthy communities through engaged scholarship, several Penn State campuses have joined forces to begin the efforts in their regions. They have partnered with ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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A University-Community Research Collaboration to Promote Sustainable Agriculture for Food Security

  • University of North Carolina, Asheville (NC)

Many counties of Western North Carolina have high levels of food insecurity that may be addressed by training communities to grow, prepare, and preserve their own food. Through the McCullough ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Repairing our Foodshed

  • Wells College (NY)

Wells College has acted to address gaps within its local foodshed. Responding to area 'food desert' conditions, the college initiated the Aurora Farmers Market to provide community residents access to ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Food Conscious Campus: Urban Innovations Towards Zero Hunger

  • MacEwan University (AB)

Innovative technologies like Flow Hives, Tower Gardens, and Urban Cultivators engage the campus community with local food options and opportunities for food security downtown. Through a short documentary and discussion ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Great Gardening Goals: Aligning WMU's Gibbs Permaculture Site With the UN's SDGs

  • Western Michigan University (MI)

At the Western Michigan University Gibbs Site, the Office for Sustainability demonstrates permaculture techniques, and researches the validity of those techniques, while repairing damaged land, building soil carbon, increasing biodiversity ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Overcoming Obstacles When Establishing Intentional, Productive Urban Campus Green Spaces: Natural and Man-made Challenges

  • Virginia Commonwealth University (VA)

In April 2016, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), an urban research university in downtown Richmond, VA, created an on-campus Learning Garden. Urban campus gardens can face a unique set of challenges ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Big Food in our Universities: Exploring the Ties Between Institutions and Big Food Corporations

  • Real Food Challenge (MA)

Our universities and higher education institutions have the power and duty to be at the forefront of the movement for a more just and sustainable food system. So why is ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Put Your Fork Where Your Ethics Are: Exploring Food Systems & Leveraging University Purchasing Power

  • Johns Hopkins University (MD)

Do you support climate change? What about modern-day slavery? You don't have to answer that, the food that you buy already does. Worldwide, food is an essential commodity that ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Lettuce Talk: Students and Dining Staff Collaborating on Plant-Based Dining

  • University of Pittsburgh (PA)
  • Sodexo USA (MD)

Plant-based diets can be healthier and more sustainable than meat-centric diets but plant-based options in college dining halls often fail to be crave-worthy. At the University of Pittsburgh dining halls ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Campus Grown: Connecting Sustainability, Local Food Systems, and Experiential Student Learning

  • Pennsylvania State University (PA)
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (NC)

When farms, gardens, and other agricultural production takes place on college campuses those spaces can serve as hubs for sustainability education, local food systems, and transformative student learning. In this ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Food Recovery and Partnership Models

  • University of Notre Dame (IN)
  • University of Utah (UT)
  • Sodexo USA (MD)
  • 412 Food Rescue (PA)

The University of Utah is collaborating to address seven of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals on on-campus, in local communities, as well as throughout the state. While working ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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How to Get Reusable Dining Containers on Your Campus!

  • Northern Arizona University (AZ)

Many campuses serve food at dining locations in single-use plastics. These plastics may be recyclable, but unfortunately, these containers are rarely cleaned. As a result, the recycling is contaminated. In ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Using Catering to Create a Virtuous Cycle of Sustainability in Your Community

  • Emory University (GA)
  • America To Go (NY)

Sustainability practitioners are constantly grappling with the hard questions: How to overcome inertia of the status quo? How to get others to adopt change? How to get businesses that could ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Green Dining at Georgia State University

  • Georgia State University (GA)

Georgia State's insourced dining services, PantherDining, continues to impress and promote sustainability throughout campus. With the help from the Student Sustainability Fee Fund, PantherDining recently launched Freight Farms' Leafy ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Real Food Challenge at University of Pittsburgh

  • University of Pittsburgh (PA)

The Real Food Challenge is a nation-wide initiative to bring local, fair, humane, and ecologically sound food to college campuses. By 2020, every participating institution aims to have 20% of ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Increasing Local Food Procurement at Ontario's 24 Colleges

  • Mohawk College (ON)

Mohawk College executed an innovative project that proved that by sharing knowledge, resources, and solutions, together, colleges can work together to address systematic barriers to sustainability. The project, Increasing Local ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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The Dirt on Real/Good Food

  • Macalester College (MN)
  • University of Pittsburgh (PA)
  • University of Calgary (AB)
  • Sodexo USA (MD)

What makes food sustainable? As an institution how do we implement and report sustainable sourcing of food consumed on our campuses? The Good Food Challenge (Canada) and Real Food Challenge ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Using FEEDS Communication Platform to Share Sustainability News From Dining Services

  • University of North Carolina, Asheville (NC)
  • Chartwells Higher Education (NY)

As part of our commitment to sustainability, in October 2017 UNC Asheville Dining Services, a division of Chartwells Higher Ed, rolled out a new public communications platform called FEEDS: Farm-Forward ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Researching and Purchasing Real Food on Campus

  • Real Food Challenge (MA)

Our institutions of higher education have incredible purchasing power, with food budgets totaling approximately $5 billion. Instead of using their spending to support local and community-based, fair, ecologically sound, and ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Raising the Bar Across North America: Tracking Sustainable Food Purchasing in Higher Education

  • Real Food Challenge (MA)
  • Meal Exchange (ON)

Across the United States, the Real Food Calculator has become a standard-setting tool for local and sustainable food procurement in higher education. This student-led research tool allows universities to assess ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Building a Bigger Table: Engaging Communities on Food Security

  • College of Charleston (SC)

On our campus, and in the surrounding community, there appears to be a growing urge for increased engagement and 'silo-busting.' One of the largest focal points for this is food ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Closing the Food Loop

  • University of Pittsburgh (PA)

As a group of student from three different universities and a diverse range of interests, we all noticed that there were many problems with the current food system. To start ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Estimating Greenhouse Gas and Water Reduction Through Food Labeling at a University Dining Facility

  • Villanova University (PA)

As one of the most basic requirements for survival, food plays a massive role in how humans interact, not merely with one another, but also with the environment. The diet ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Virginia Food Systems Leadership Institute

  • George Mason University (VA)

This poster will provide an overview of the Virginia Food Systems Leadership Institute (VFSLI), an innovative collaboration involving four public research universities in Virginia and the Smithsonian Institution. Piloted successfully ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Leveraging Sustainability in Food Service Across Campus

  • University of Houston (TX)

The University of Houston has undergone a physical and culture transformation with a different food service provider and new collaboration with our Office of Sustainability. In spring 2017 the Food ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Local Food Sourcing in Kentucky: A Case Study in Higher Ed Collaboration

  • Aramark (PA)

The University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville have a unique approach to sourcing local food. Hear from the Sustainability Managers from their dining services and the Executive Director ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Food Service Contracts and RFPs as Vehicle for Sourcing More Sustainable Food

  • University of California, Berkeley (CA)
  • University of Vermont (VT)
  • Farm Forward (OR)

College and universities need new strategies to scale sustainable food procurement. Programs like STARS and the Real Food Challenge have institutionalized sustainable food purchasing targets and many campuses have made ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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UT Farm Stand: A Campus-Scale Model for Sustainable Food Production

  • University of Texas at Austin (TX)

At the University of Texas, UT Farm Stand offers an innovative campus-scale model for a sustainable food production system. This student-run program depicts the unique tale of farm to market ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Building a Meal Sharing Program

  • Johnson County Community College (KS)

Johnson County Kansas has mirrored the increased food insecurity that has been prevalent at the national level. Johnson County Community College has tackled this issue by creating a meal share ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Changing Plates: How Aramark Partnered With HSUS to Lead Sustainable Change Through Food

  • Aramark (PA)
  • Humane Society of the United States (MD)

Demand for more plant-based menus continues to grow as students become more knowledgeable about their food choices and the impact on the planet. As part of their continued relationship of ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Expanding the Mission of a CanstructionU Competition to Include Partnerships for Hunger Awareness

  • Penn State Brandywine (PA)

As part of a year-long effort to develop community partnerships themed on sustainability, Penn State Brandywine connected with the local food bank for an academic and volunteer collaboration. In the ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Driving Food Reconnection at Arizona State University through Collaboration between USP and Aramark

  • Arizona State University (AZ)
  • Aramark (PA)

Surveys conducted at Arizona State University dining locations indicate that the vast majority of customers care about using natural resources responsibly and make a conscious effort to only take what ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Closing the Loop: Building a Healthy and Sustainable Campus Food System

  • California State University, Northridge (CA)

California State University, Northridge (CSUN) has made remarkable changes to its food landscape in the past few years. Our campus supports and hosts multiple organic food learning gardens as well ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Empowering Student Leaders to Create a Zero Waste Food Court

  • University of California, Irvine (CA)
  • Aramark (PA)

In order to divert 95% of solid waste from the landfill, UCI Hospitality & Dining (HDS) and Aramark collaborate with Social Ecology Field Study interns, Campus as a Living Lab ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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BYO[Solutions]: Reuse Programs in Campus Dining

  • University of Pittsburgh (PA)

College campuses are hubs of waste, from plastic bags to disposable food containers and single-use coffee cups. However, universities can use this opportunity to implement waste-reduction programs with the aim ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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The Real Food Challenge: Bringing Healthy and Local Food Options into Campus Dining Halls

  • Case Western Reserve University (OH)

Across the United States, college campuses are partaking in the Real Food Challenge, a national organization that promotes the development of local, fair, sustainable and humane food systems in college ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Encouraging Sustainable Food Purchasing Through Student Programs

  • Skidmore College (NY)

Many institutions endeavor to serve local and sustainable food within its dining services, but the complex and often opaque food system presents significant challenges to identifying and sourcing responsibly-produced products ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Campus Advocacy for Global Impact: Fair Trade and the United Nations SDGs

  • Fair Trade Colleges & Universities

Fair Trade Campaigns is a powerful grassroots movement mobilizing thousands of conscious consumers and Fair Trade advocates on campuses and communities across the U.S. We are part of a ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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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