|
Sun Devil Dining is committed to making environmentally responsible decisions across our operations to minimize our impact on the environment while providing quality food and service. Our continually evolving sustainability platform includes local grower and producer partnerships, edible landscaping from campus, commingle and fryer oil recycling, daily green cleaning products, energy efficient equipment, education and outreach.
Sustainable Foods
Do you ever wonder where and how your food is grown?
- Local Partnerships: Some of the local growers and producers we work with in the Valley include:
Queen Creek Olive Mill
Shamrock Foods
Signature Breads
Desert Sweet Shrimp
Rainbow Valley Cheese
Seacat Gardens
Maya’s Farm
Briggers & Eggers
- Campus Harvest: Sun Devil Dining has developed the Campus Harvest Program in partnership with ASU’s Grounds Department. Through the support of student volunteers, ASU Grounds harvests edible landscaping such as Seville oranges, Medjool dates, and select herbs and produce. These campus-grown ingredients are then used by chefs in a variety of menu items such as Seville orange vinaigrettes and chocolate dipped candied orange peels, Medjool date bars and parfaits, Seville orange sweet and sour sauces, etc. Using the local campus ingredients reflects both the desert environment and the connection with ASU.
Social Equity & Community Outreach
- Fair Trade Coffee – We offer a variety of Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance & USDA Certified Organic coffees at the Java City and Starbucks locations across campus.
- Meal Donations for Families in Need: In the spirit of giving, ASU Catering/Sun Devil Dining put together holiday meals for 30 local families in need.
- Slow Food Pheonix & Community Food Connection: Sun Devil Dining is continually furthering relationships with Slow Food Phoenix and Community Food Connection. Past events include the Farmer-Chef Connection (July 2008) and Slow Food Farm Tour (May 2009)…with events more to come!
- Food Drive: Huge Kudos to student group “ASU for Food”. During the Spring 2009 semester, Sun Devil Dining convenience stores supported the ASU Food Drive to enable students to purchase bulk items such as tomato sauce, canned beans, etc. to donate to a local food bank. Through two drives, ASU for Food raised a total of 2000 lbs of food that equated to a total of over 7500 meals served to disadvantaged people in the Phoenix area.
Health & Nutrition
- Nutrition Month: In honor of nutrition month, Sun Devil Dining ran a “Super Foods” campaign to promote and educate students on the benefits of a selection of super foods including blueberries, nuts, chocolate, etc.
Nutrition Kiosk/Just 4U: Nutrition Kiosks are available in all the residential dining halls for students to check food and health information for all menu items. The Just 4U Program provides information for a healthy diet and highlights nutrition qualities of menu items (e.g. “Under 5 grams of fat”;” Good source of Calcium”; “Whole Grain”).
- Vegetarian, Vegan and Variety Options: There are dining options available to accommodate most dietary needs, including low carbohydrate, high protein, gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, low fat, etc. Each residential dining hall has a veggie stations with vegan or vegetarian options daily.
- Trans Fat-Free oils: Trans Fat-Free Oils are used in all proprietary and most national brand locations. Trans fats can increase the risk of coronary heart disease by raising levels of bad cholesterol.
Waste Reduction
- Commingle & Cardboard Recycling: Sun Devil Dining has implemented commingle recycling programs in all the kitchens on Tempe and Downtown Campuses. Recycled items includes: hard plastics (recycling codes 1-7), metals (aluminum and steel), aseptic containers, and paper/paperboard. We have also implemented a separate cardboard recycling program for facilities across all four campuses.
- Reusable Container Discount: In an effort to reduce waste, Sun Devil Dining customers a 10% discount on all fountain drinks with the use of a reusable drink container.
- 100% Fryer Oil Recycling: 100% of our used fryer oil is collected by a local AZ company and refined for biodiesel, industrial use and other purposes.
- Reusable Bags: In an effort to discourage the use of plastic bags, convenience stores offer a $1 discount with the use of a Sun Devil Dining reusable bag, for purchases over $10.
Energy & Water Conservation
· Trayless Dining: Trayless dining provides triple bottom line benefits for people, planet and profit. Environmentally it encourages waste reduction, conserves and energy and water, and reduces the amount of detergents that enter the water stream. Socially, trayless dining provides education and awareness on healthy eating habits. Economically, less food waste results in less unnecessary over purchasing or production. Between the three main dining halls on Tempe campus alone, trayless dining is estimated to save 77,600lbs of food waste and 413,800gallons of water in one academic year.
· Energy Star Equipment: In the construction of new dining facilities, Sun Devil Dining sources Energy Star equipment, where Energy Star products are available.
Responsible Procurement
· Daily Green Cleaning Products: All Sun Devil Dining locations on campus are committed to using daily green cleaning products to reduce the use of harmful chemicals and improve indoor air quality for a healthier environment.
· 100% Recycled Paper
Events, Education & Engagement:
· Weigh the Waste Campaign: Through our “Weigh the Waste” campaign, we weighed food scraps to make students aware of how much food is wasted. We encouraged second helpings and responsible portion sizes. Based on our weights, we estimated that 426,256 lbs of food is wasted at the customer-level each year!
· I Pledge Campaign: In honor of Campus Sustainability Day, we held an
“I Pledge Campaign” in our all our residential dining halls. Students were encouraged to put a green fingerprint on one of a few posters, pledging to take on a new green habit (eg. I will recycle, I will remember to turn off lights/TVs/electronics, I will conserve water, etc)
· Eat Well Live Well: In honor of Earth Day, Sun Devil Dining hosted an inaugural sustainability expo featuring 25 booths focused on sustainability and health and wellness. Booths included local/sustainable food partners & vendors, student sustainability organizations, ASU departments, and community organizations. Giveaways included free product samples, potted herb plants, and reusable bags. Activities included free massages, live music, and pot painting. The event was a great success and attracted over 200 participants.
· Polytechnic FEASTIval: Sun Devil Dining partnered with the Polytechnic Campus to host the inaugural FEASTival event in honor of Earth Day. Engrained café catered the event providing a delicious selection of local, organic, and vegetarian food options. There were over 30 booths with live music, a solar-oven cook-off and recycling/composting.
· Engrained Education, Engagement & Awareness: The sustainable concept behind Engrained evolved out of ARAMARK’s Green Thread environmental stewardship program, which is our commitment to environmental stewardship across our operations. Being in a campus environment, we realized the unique opportunity to engage students, faculty and the larger community in sustainable dining through a learning-living restaurant committed to locally grown food and environmentally responsible practices. Below are some of the events we held:
- Healthy Food Cooking Demos
- Student Classes for the School of Sustainability, Herberger School of Arts, and The American Language & Cultural Program
- Energy Conservation Program with a group of Mechanical Engineering students
For more information, check out the Engrained website: www.engrainedcafe.com
· Healthy Food Cooking Demos: Engrained café held two healthy food cooking demos. One demo focused on Quinoa (dried fruits/seeds high in protein) the second demo featured sushi and sustainable seafood.
· Sustainability Training: Over 250+ of our hourly employees have been trained on a variety of sustainability and environmental stewardship topics including recycling, responsible purchasing, sustainable food, transportation, and energy and water conservation. Our goal is to reflect on ways to make sustainability a part of our daily work and personal lives.
· Other Sustainability Events: Other Sun Devil Dining sustainability events and campaigns include: participation in the Green Summit, involvement in Campus Sustainability Day, Hungry for a Hybrid Campaign, etc.
ASU Catering Commitment to the Environment:
Arizona State University Catering is committed to making environmentally and socially conscious decisions in all aspects of our special event and catering services. We are pleased to offer a variety of sustainable foods and continually strive to source locally, reduce waste, and minimize our impact on the earth, while upholding quality food and service. Attached is an outline of our green practices. |
|