Sustainability Awards

University of Montana Campus Dining is proud to submit the Iron Griz Garden for consideration for the Carbon Neutrality Sustainability Award.  The Iron Griz Garden is a half-acre of regeneratively grown annual vegetables, cut flowers, an orchard, native plants, laying ducks, and honeybees.  In 2025, this space produced 4,572# of produce valued at $52,119 that was added to the campus food system.  The garden is staffed by one full time employee as well as student employees, interns, and volunteers.  It is a learning space that welcomes the community for tours, workshops, parties, or just to explore. 

Serving approximately 1,750 students through a self-operated dining program, we have built a nationally recognized culture of environmental responsibility: locally sourced menus, trayless dining, daily food donation, and composting. Our commitment to quality and responsibility is reflected in Pomona’s ranking as #9 for Best College Food in California by Niche.

As universities intensify efforts to reduce food-related greenhouse gas emissions, NYU Eats continues to advance a comprehensive approach to climate action. Building on institutional commitments and citywide partnerships, NYU Eats has launched a series of initiatives focused on empowering behavior change coupled with strategic menu designs and procurement shifts leading to an overall reduction in food-related emissions and increase of plant based spend. Complementing these food-focused efforts, NYU Dining also conducted a comprehensive review of our Scope 1 operational emissions. As a result, we transitioned one of our popular All-You-Care-to-Eat dining locations from gas-powered equipment to a fully electric kitchen.

SFU Dining Commons’ Black History Month culinary collaboration, “Flavours of the Caribbean,” transformed the space into a hub for cultural exchange, storytelling, education, and community connection. In partnership with the Black Student Centre, the initiative brought a local Black chef to campus to co-create a menu that celebrated Caribbean cuisine and the broader cultural significance of Black culinary traditions. More than a dining experience, the program encouraged dialogue and learning to foster cultural connection by highlighting the significance of Black History Month, sharing the chef’s personal stories and the meaning behind each dish, and featuring reflections from SFU’s Black student, faculty, and staff community.

During the Spring 2025 semester, UVM UHDS launched the Local Meets Global program—an innovative initiative designed to bring local, women-owned, and BIPOC-owned food businesses directly into three all-you-care-to-eat dining halls. Through this program, local vendors are invited to prepare and serve approximately 500 portions of their featured dish during dinner service, allowing students to experience authentic global cuisines while providing paid opportunities and exposure for local entrepreneurs.

On October 8, 2025, UC Merced Dining hosted a remarkable evening of food, music, and conversation in celebration of Indigenous People’s Day. The event, Honoring Indigenous Foodways: A Fireside Chat with Chef Sean Sherman, brought together students, faculty, staff, and community members for an exploration of culture, sustainability, and
resilience through food. Chef Sherman, founder of The Sioux Chef, James Beard Award recipient, and one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, has become a leading national voice for Indigenous food sovereignty. His life’s work centers on reclaiming ancestral foodways and honoring traditional ecological knowledge as a path toward both cultural and environmental healing. The program welcomed over 150 guests, including UC Merced students, faculty, staff, and community members from across the Central Valley.

Boston University Dining Services’ (BU Dining) significant purchasing power and position as a part of an institution of higher education underscore our responsibility to not only implement sustainable procurement practices but also to educate the university community about our practices so we inform their own purchasing behavior beyond Boston University. BU Dining’s guiding principles for local and sustainable sourcing reflect our commitment to environmentally sustainable and socially responsible food systems. 

With 29% of residential dining hall spend on food coming from dozens of vendors within 150 miles or within the state of North Carolina in 2025, Elon Dining proudly supports local farmers and businesses. Achieving 29% local spend- a 4% increase from 2024- was possible due to longstanding partnerships with small farms, new partnerships with sustainable, local vendors, and a strengthened relationship with NC-based food hub, Farmer Foodshare. In 2025 specifically, Elon Dining built two stand-out partnerships that covered opposite ends of the state: fresh fruit from local orchards in Western North Carolina, and sustainably sourced seafood from the North Carolina Coast.   

UNCW’s commitment to sustainable procurement continues to be a defining priority for both our dining operations and our student body. Over the past year, this commitment has translated into clear, measurable progress, driven by intentional expansion of local partnerships and a strengthened focus on regional sourcing. From August 2024 to December 2024, local purchasing represented 15% of our total procurement. From August 2025 to December 2025, that figure rose to 24.8%, marking a significant year‑over‑year increase and demonstrating the effectiveness of our strategy.

As the Ocean State, Rhode Island is defined by its coastline, long-standing fishing traditions, small-scale agriculture, and a dense network of independent food producers. The region is known for products such as clams, oysters, fresh seafood, dairy, and regional baked goods like Portuguese sweet bread that reflect its coastal and culinary heritage. At the core of Johnson & Wales University (JWU) Dining’s sustainable procurement strategy is a commitment to reflecting that identity and creating a sense of place and belonging for students. By prioritizing local purchasing, JWU transforms everyday dining into a direct connection to the surrounding community, connecting students to the people, products, and culture of the region.

In 2025, Harding University’s Student Government Association embarked on an initiative that reshaped the relationship between students, food systems, and sustainability across campus. Through the establishment of the SGA Garden Committee and a deepened partnership with Bison Hospitality—the university’s dining program— Harding expanded its campus garden into a robust, interactive, and educational ecosystem. What began as a collection of small planting beds developed into an integrative model of sustainable procurement, environmental stewardship, collaborative learning, waste reduction, community engagement, and student leadership.

Waste reduction at the University of Pittsburgh is not a single initiative — it is a comprehensive, multi-stream strategy embedded into the culture and daily operations of Pitt Eats. Over the past several years, the program has built a layered system that addresses waste at every stage: from the moment ingredients arrive in the back of house to the take-out container a student carries out the front door to the food that might never reach a guest’s plate.

Harvard College (the undergraduate degree-granting program of Harvard University) has a unique residential system. Virtually all 7,000 undergraduates live on campus for all four years and participate in an undergraduate dining program supported through 13 dining halls spread across the College’s 209-acre main Cambridge campus. Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) supports the health and well-being of these busy undergraduates by allowing them to take food to go from the dining hall. Maximizing their mandatory, unlimited meal plan, students may come to their dining hall, swipe, request a to-go container, and pack it with a personalized meal.

food4VOLS is a cross-campus sustainability initiative led by the UT Culinary Institute in strategic partnership with Vol Dining. The program recovers surplus food from campus dining operations and transforms it into safe, nutritious, ready-to-eat meals for students and community partners.