Sustainable Food
Dining Services at UNC has been a campus leader in sustainability efforts for many years. From feeding overripe fruit to research bats and supplying cutlery made of plant starch, to recycling fryer oil into biodiesel, Dining Services makes a conscious effort to incorporate environmental awareness into every decision made about products and practices. Sustainable practices include:
- Relationships with local growers and food suppliers and the use of herbs and vegetables grown on campus.
- A local company picks up used fryer oil and recycles it. Currently it's used with feed for livestock, but it will soon be recycled for bio-diesel fuels.
- Holmes Dining Hall donates leftover and over-ripe fruit to the research bats in Ross Hall.
- Educational programs are offered to inform students about food waste in the dining halls.
- Dining Services participates in UNC's recycling program.
- Dining services includes sustainability requirements for their prime vendors.
- A pilot program for composting at Holmes Dining Hall.
- The “Bear On The Run” to-go program utilizes biodegradable containers and cups. Student can also choose to use a green plastic container instead of the biodegradable ones and exchange it for a clean one the next time they come in.
- The University Center Food Court uses utensils made of 70 percent renewable resources.
- The compactor at Holmes Hall included a solar power control system.
- A computerized menu management system that monitors consumer eating habits to reduce over-production.
- The Waste Not Program in Tobey-Kendel utilizes leftovers instead of tossing them.
- All dining room lights are turned off between meals to help conserve energy.
- On Earth Day, Dining Services sponsors a “Lights Out Lunch.”
- Replacement equipment is energy star rated when available.
