Food and Dining

Goals

• Procurement Definition: The process of sourcing, acquiring and paying for food.
• Sustainable Food Definition: Within Housing*Dining*Hospitality, 55% of menu items offered are classified as “sustainable choice” offerings; menu items that are classified as a “sustainable choice” are designated as such because they make up less than 25% of the daily carbon footprint.
• UC Sustainable Practices Policy:
  • Each UC campus foodservice operation will strive to procure 25% sustainable food products by 2030.
  • Each UC campus will procure 25% plant-based food by 2030 and strive to procure 30% by 2030

Progress and Highlights

• 18% sustainable food spend and 23% plant-based food spend (Fiscal year 2022–2023)
• Housing*Dining*Hospitality sustainability features include:
  • All coffee and sugar sold at the markets and dining locations is Fair Trade Certified
  • All eggs are cage-free
  • Seafood is sourced from certified Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) or certified by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch

Packaging Waste

Housing*Dining*Hospitality launched the Triton2Go Mobile Ordering App and Reusable Container Program during Fall Quarter 2020. From fall 2020 to spring 2023, the program has diverted more than 945,000 single-use containers from the landfill.

Composting Food Waste

• Housing*Dining*Hospitality markets and dining hall kitchens have been composting pre-consumer food waste since 2009 and launched post-consumer food waste collection Fall Quarter 2023.
• Price Center vendors have been composting pre-consumer food waste since 2009 and launched post-consumer food waste collection in Spring Quarter 2024.
• Students who want to collect post-consumer waste in their dorms to empty into campus organic waste collection bins can receive personal compost buckets from the Student Sustainability Collective’s Food Scrap Drop Off Program. Email ssc-food@ucsd.edu for more information.

UC San Diego is one of the most “vegan-friendly” large schools.

• Housing*Dining*Hospitality Markets and restaurants have vegan and vegetarian options available daily with menus Rooted in Flavor. Specific vegan and vegetarian items may vary by location and time of year. HDH dining locations also offer whole-grain meal alternatives. Look for these icons to differentiate vegan and vegetarian options on the Mobile Order app.

• Statistics about the prevalence of vegan/vegetarian food served in UC San Diego dining halls:
  • Roots, a Housing*Dining*Hospitality restaurant located in the center of Muir College, has a completely vegan menu that serves entrees, snacks, smoothies and desserts.
  • 27.4% of food purchased in the 2022–2023 academic year was plant-based.
  • Minimally, 20–25% of all menu options are vegetarian; certain platforms and locations have fewer vegetarian/vegan options. (These percentages are based on the 2022–2023 academic year.)
• The Food Co-Op, located in the Old Student Center, is a vegan student-run cooperative that provides affordable vegan meals to students using ingredients recovered from the Food Recovery Network and Triton Food Pantry.
• Plant Power, an all-vegan fast food restaurant, operates as a vendor in Sixth College North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood.