Campus Dining Named Environmental Stewardship Award Winner

Illinois State University Campus Dining Services is the recipient of the 2008 Environmental Stewardship Award for its work in "greening" campus dining operations.  The award, presented by Illinois State's Green Team to recognize environmental stewardship on campus and in the surrounding community, includes $500 to advance environmental efforts. 

The Environmental Stewardship Award recognizes Campus Dining's work in revising student meal plans to encourage more dine-in options and reduce the use of bottled beverages and financially and environmentally costly take-out containers.  A new all-you-care-to-eat meal plan eliminates the need for individually-packaged items and reduces the amount of food being wasted.  Meal plan holders also receive refillable water bottles for use in dining centers.

Campus Dining also removed plastic trays from Linkins Dining Center and plans to remove the trays from Watterson Food Court in the future.  By eliminating the need to wash trays in one dining center alone, approximately 58,800 - 98,000 gallons of water will be saved during a school year. 

In September 2008, Campus Dining Services hosted a local foods dinner to raise awareness among students, faculty, and staff of the social and environmental benefits of locally produced foods.  Campus Dining's Executive Chef, Chef Tim Gump, prepared the meal with foods from nine local producers.  Plans are underway to make the local foods dinner an annual event.

Expecting to see an increase in the demand for seafood and recognizing the need to balance environmental responsibility with customer expectations, Campus Dining Services has set a goal of purchasing seafood from sustainable fisheries. Sustainability is also a central theme in planning the design and equipment choices for the Watterson Food Court renovation.  Additionally, Campus Dining Services has purchased a Toyota Prius to replace a 12-passenger van that staff use to make their daily rounds.