Sustainability

Our Initiatives

Your Sodexo Campus Dining Team is dedicated to sustainability. We know we can all work together to make a positive impact right here at Berea College. In addition to the many initiatives we take on as a company, we have implemented the following programs specific to Berea College.

Composting

BC Dining collects all pre-consumer (trim waste) and post-consumer (plate) waste for composting at the Berea College Farm. For successful organic management, the horticulture enterprise requires a reliable source of organic fertilizer. Begun in 1998, the Berea College composting program is the creative solution to address this need. It also meets all the requirements of sustainability: economy, low input, and nutrient recycling. This program is a partnership between Berea College Dining and the Gardens and Greenhouse. Horticulture students collect buckets of food waste and compostable paper from the dining hall and layer the contents with carbon-rich materials. This is a process of passive composting which yields usable soil conditioner and potting medium in several months.

Reusable Cup

The environment and your pocketbook win! Bring your own reusable cup to purchase coffee or a fountain soda on campus and receive a 10% discount at every location, every time.

Local Suppliers

Berea College Dining sources pasture-raised beef, pork, and poultry from the Berea College Farm, and certified organic produce from the Berea College Gardens and Greenhouse horticulture enterprise. Crops include blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, a wide selection of greens, summer and winter squash, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, herbs, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, turnips, and others. Fertility for crop production is provided primarily through the use of compost generated from pre- and post-consumer food waste collected from campus, and by the use of crop rotation and cover crops. BC Dining is proud to serve food grown by students, for students that is incredibly fresh and sustainably grown.

-Pike Valley Farm in Lancaster Kentucky, pastured beef, pork and poultry

-Lazy 8 Stock Farm in Paint Lick, Kentucky

-Evans Orchard Cider Mill in Georgetown, Kentucky apples and cider

-Sustainable Harvest Farm in Corbin, Kentucky - certified organic produce

-BC Dining sources from many Kentucky farms via our produce suppliers Creation Gardens and Papania's Produce.

Community

Did you know? Berea Dining partners with GrowAppalachia and Berea College to provide over 14,000 USDA -sponsored free summer meals for community kids, served at numerous sites including the public library, STEM and art camps, and local churches.

Weigh the Waste

Did you know that 40% of the food produced in our country is wasted? Periodically throughout the school year, we conduct a Weigh the Waste event. During the event, we weigh all of the uneaten food from guest’s plates. We consolidate the findings and report back to the community. We tie this to an awareness campaign that informs guests about food waste and its impact to our environment and our communities. We hold frequent campaigns in which we compare our results (and hopefully see our waste decline).

LeanPath

Reducing waste critical. It results in less food waste in landfills where it emits methane which is 21x more powerful than CO2. The LeanPath kitchen waste tracking system records and tracks all of the food waste from our kitchen. This helps us to identify and change practices which result in food waste. By tracking waste we inform our staff and focus our efforts. On average, Sodexo has experienced a 40% decrease in kitchen food waste when the LeanPath system is in place.

Local Dairy

All of our fluid milk is purchased from local dairies that do not use rBST.

Xprss Nap Dispensers

Xprss Nap Dispensers save energy and waste. The napkins are made of 100% recycled paper and the dispenser will encourage customers to take (and waste) fewer napkins. Energy is saved because less power is used to recycle paper products than to create them from virgin material. Plus, our napkins are unbleached and can be collected with post - consumer waste for composting.

Fairly Traded Coffee and Tea

All of the coffee we serve at the Mountaineer and Wholly Habaneros is purchased from Safai Coffee and Tea, a local roastery in Louisville, KY. We also purchase exceptional craft Integritea founded in Lexington, KY.

Sustainable Fish and Seafood

We are committed to serving sustainable seafood and fish. By 2015 100% of our fish and seafood will be sustainably certified by the Marine Stewardship Council or the Best Aquaculture Practices. We do not purchase any at-risk species.

Sustainable Catering

All it takes are a few simple steps to more sustainable catered events. We feature menus that are locally grown, seasonal, organic, vegetarian and/or well balanced. We use china service ware whenever possible, but if necessary, we try to use compostable and/or recyclable disposable ware. We strive to eliminate bottled beverages when possible by replacing them with pitchers of drinks and reusable glassware. Each season we unveil a catering menu that highlights the season's bounty. Not only does it increase variety, it also features food that is in season.

Recycling

Berea Dining collects plastics, metal, paper and cardboard for recycling.

SMART

The Sustainability Management and Reporting Tool (SMART) is a comprehensive, yet easy to use dashboard that provides baseline sustainability performance, prioritizes initiatives, and tracks continuous improvement in four key areas - carbon and energy, water, waste, and healthy and sustainable food and environments.

APEX Dishwashing System

APEX combines technology and products designed to save water and energy, minimize the impact of products on the environment, and has a built-in method of measuring results. The APEX management approach uses a tablet PC and wireless technology to communicate with the system’s controller to download, process and analyze data to establish each foodservice operation’s “rack-to-guest ratio.” By monitoring and improving this ratio, the system helps reduce the amount of water and energy used at each facility, and improve total operational efficiency.