
Sustainability
Smith College Dining Services is committed to supporting sustainability with a focus on three key areas: local and sustainable foods; waste reduction through composting and recycling; and responsible use of resources through purchasing and operations.
Reducing Waste
A Few Words About Waste
In addition to buying local and sustainable foods, Dining Services is committed to reducing food waste and has implemented several successful initiatives.
- A reusable to-go container program: Students return containers to machines on campus for a new token.
- Collaboration with the Food Recovery Network, a student-led organization to provide food to those in need.
- Use of the Phood software platform to collect data and track food waste.
- Composting with Bridgemont Farm in Westhampton, MA.
- Recycling with Republic: glass, metal, plastic, paper & cardboard.
Sustainability Mission
Our Commitment
- To provide foods that nourish us, our community and our environment.
- To support local farms and the local economy.
- To reduce the amount of energy and carbon emissions associated with the transportation of food.
- To increase transparency in purchases and think critically about our buying power as a food service institution.
- To support a more conscious food culture at Smith College and cultivate a deeper respect for farmers and the production structure of our foods.
- To purchase 20 percent real food by 2020 according to the Real Food Challenge Criteria (and we met our goal in 2017!).
Our Efforts
- We choose to buy local whenever it is seasonally available and financially feasible.
- We actively reduce waste and divert it through composting and recycling.
- We have trayless dining.
- We actively engage with our consumers in the Smith community.
- We are allies in educating and expanding awareness of local food use on campus.
- We provide first-year students with a reusable water bottle at Central Check-In.
- We provide all students with entry into the reusable to-go program.
Our Sustainability Partners
Smith is a proud supporter of CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture), based in South Deerfield, Massachusetts, which strengthens local agriculture by building connections between farmers and the community. Learn more about the inspiring food providers that work with Smith to provide high-quality, local ingredients that incorporate sustainable practices.