SUSTAINABILITY AT RWU

Source Reduction

• Throughout the academic year, Dining runs waste awareness and reduction campaigns

• On average, we reduce post-consumer waste by 200 lbs per day during the campaign

• Luckily, our campus culture naturally does not use trays which greatly reduces unnecessary waste

• We participate in Bon Appetit’s “Imperfectly Delicious” program when regional produce is offered.Imperfectly Delicious recruits farmers to offer produce that would otherwise be discarded due to imperfect appearance.

• We’ve focused on streamlining our production system:

  • Protein portions are examined on a monthly basis through our online Food Standards Dashboard

  • Reutilization is a main focus while creating menus and post-meal service

Food Recovery

• Since partnering with the student-run Food Recovery Network in April, 2014 we’ve donated over 18,000 lbs of food to partnering agencies in need that would have otherwise gone to waste.Partnering agencies include: Lucy’s Hearth Women & Children’s Shelter (Middletown, RI) and McKinney Cooperative Shelter (Newport, RI)

• We’re collaborating with the university’s Honors Program in hosting a statewide panel discussion at the Providence Public Library as part Rhode Island’s A La Rhody campaign.The panel is designed to be a directed, coordinated conversation about the role of higher education in making commitments to and designing action plans for facilitating food recovery and sustainable food practices. The event is also aiming to engage with the community in as many ways as possible, including working with the Bristol Health Equity Zone to deliver resources to food deserts in Bristol.

• At the end of each semester, food donations are made to the RI Veterans Home and the Bristol Good Neighbors soup kitchen to reduce the waste stream.

• All of Baypoint’s pre-consumer waste is given to farm-to-fork partner, Aquidneck Honey, as animal feed

• Our waste vegetable oil is collected by Newport Biodiesel and converted into clean-burning sustainable fuel for local homes and businesses

Composting

• All of our pre and post-consumer waste is composted by partnering with The Compost Plant

  • This is done in the production kitchen, Upper Commons, Lower Commons, and Baypoint

  • Since July 2014, we’ve composted over 258 tons of organic waste

• Catering utilizes compostable paper products and utensils

• The Upper Commons utilizes all compostable paperware