Over the years,

Michigan Dining

has redoubled its

efforts in student

health, community

involvement and

the protection of

the environment.

Through hard work,

renovation

and innovation,

Michigan is now

one of the most

sustainable campus

dining systems in

the nation.

Michigan Dining has committed to purchasing 20% of its food from

sustainable food sources by 2025. Sustainable food sources are those that

are locally sourced and third-party certified. As of fall 2015, we are at

12.7% and growing.

Buying from local suppliers reduces our carbon footprint and makes for fresher, more nutritious

meals. Michigan Dining spends 27% of its food budget with Michigan farms and companies,

providing local economic and community support to Michigan businesses.

All dairy served on campus comes from Michigan dairy farms within 100 miles of campus, and

contains no genetically engineered hormones. Our soft serve ice cream is local, too.

Most of the meat served at East Quad is supplied by farms less than 250 miles from Ann Arbor.

In 2015 we negotiated the ability to purchase more local proteins and plan to expand this

program to other dining centers.

Our cafés and markets carry a large selection of locally made snacks. Every year the Fireside

Café, on North Campus, uses thousands of pounds of fruits and vegetables sourced from local

GAP-certified farms. (GAP stands for Good Agricultural Processes, a program administered by

the USDA.)

Michigan Dining partners with Central Student Government, University Health System, Office of

Campus Sustainability and MHealthy to host two weekly MFarmers Markets from June through

October. Markets are most Mondays at the Michigan Union and Fridays at Pierpont Commons.

Thirty to forty percent of the food supply in the

United States goes to waste. That’s roughly 20

pounds of food per person per month. We’ve

challenged ourselves to examine every step of

our process – from food preparation to plating –

to eliminate food waste. We’re asking students

in our dining centers to help too, by taking only

what they will eat.

F O O D W A S T E

Every scrap of pre-consumer food waste is sent to the Ann Arbor Compost Center

operated by WeCare Organics where it’s turned into compost, mulch and top soil.

A post-consumer compost program will roll out to campus in fall of 2015.

Used cooking oil is recycled into other useable products including animal

feed and biodiesel fuel.

Trays have been eliminated from all Michigan dining halls to encourage thoughtful

food choices.

The student-run Food Recovery Network partners with Michigan Dining to collect

perishable, unused food for donation to local food banks.

When envisioning a more sustainable

future, every detail matters. We’re

constantly looking for ways to reduce

energy consumption and our impact

on the environment.

Michigan Dining became the first Big Ten

school certified by the Marine Stewardship

Council to serve sustainable seafood.

All of our coffee is organic, fair-trade and

locally roasted.

We offer vegetarian and vegan offerings in

every dining hall, every meal.

East Quad hosts Meatless Mondays to

educate students about the environmental

impact of meat consumption.

We use Aqueous Ozone to clean floors. This

reduces the amount of chemicals introduced into

the air and water supply.

Twigs at Oxford has been designated a certified

Green Restaurant, by the Green Restaurant

Association.

We offer single-stream recycling in our cafés

and markets.

All Blue To Go foods are packaged in

recyclable containers.

All new light bulbs in our dining centers and

retail locations are long-lasting LEDs. In storage

spaces like pantries and refrigerators, the LEDS

are paired with motion detectors to turn the lights

off when no one’s around.

Old appliances are being phased out and replaced

with Energy-Star rated appliances.

Water refill stations are located throughout

campus, as a way to reduce plastic waste and

conserve natural resources.

Michigan Dining is the first U-M unit to earn certification as a Platinum

Sustainable Workplace by the University of Michigan’s Planet Blue,

in every facility, from dining halls to cafés and markets.

Michigan Dining partners with the community to learn and practice sustainable

lifestyles. Here are some of the ways we achieve that mission:

As a part of the Agrarian Adventures program, Michigan Dining staff members visit

local elementary schools to teach children about healthy, sustainable food choices.

In February 2015, Michigan Dining hosted Washtenaw County’s Homegrown Local

Food Summit, a day-long conference in support of local food and sustainable

food systems.

95% of Michigan Dining staff are certified as Planet Blue Ambassadors.

Dining center, market and café renovations are engineered with sustainability

as a top priority. East Quad, Fireside Café and Central Campus Dining at South

Quad are renovated facilities that lead the industry in sustainable design. Here

are some highlights from South Quad:

Many of the chairs are made from recycled Coke bottles.

Tables are made of reclaimed bowling alley lanes, hemp, reclaimed walnut,

reclaimed oak and recycled aluminum.

Most of the ceramic/porcelain tiles contain recycled material and are made

in the USA.

Wood paneling is made from 100% reclaimed material.

Low VOC adhesives, sealants, paints, coatings and carpets are used.

Walk-off mats are made from post-consumer recycled aircraft and car tires.

MID2379 09/16

Students are our best advocates and our greatest motivators. They constantly challenge

us to think bigger and do more. We value their ideas, dedication and energy and we’re

proud to partner with many student organizations.

Friends of the Campus Farm empowers students to create a healthy future through

sustainable food education.

Ann Arbor Student Food Co. is dedicated to bringing healthy, wholesome food to

the U-M Community.

Cultivating Community empowers and educates U-M students through hands-on

organic gardening, community outreach and volunteer activities.

UMBees promotes, protects and propagates honeybees.

Michigan Sustainable Food Initiative cultivates awareness of sustainable food on

campus through education and service.

The Food Recovery Network (FRN) delivers leftover food from U-M dining centers to Food

Gatherers. To date, FRN has recovered nearly 11,000 tons of food from Michigan Dining.

Environ 211 & Environ/RCIDIV 391 are campus courses that engage students in

researching environmental issues and proposing sustainable solutions.

t: 734-763-5766w: dining.umich.edue: michigan-dining@umich.edu

For more information we invite you to contact us.

This brochure was printed using soy inks. The paper was made using eco-friendly processes

and contains 30% post-consumer waste. Please recycle.