“Going green” with Panther Dining

FIU is continuing its efforts to “go green,” especially when it comes to your dining experience, courtesy of Panther Dining/Aramark. The dining service has forged partnerships with student groups and university departments to reduce the university’s impact on the planet.

“Aside from it being the right thing to do, we try to align with the university’s mission and goals as well as the students’,” explained Michael Oestreich, marketing programs manager of Panther Dining.

In the past three years, these initiatives have been implemented:

• organic snacks in the C3 Breezeway Café,
• the use of Fair Trade Coffee beans in Starbucks
• donating leftover and used food to the Miami Rescue Mission
• tray-less dining
• switching out condiment bottles in favor of condiment pumps
• recycling used fryer oil

Additional key initiatives at Modesto A. Maidique Campus are producing some impressive results. Already, Panther Dining/Aramark has been able to contribute a consistent 400 pounds a week to the Garden Club’s compost pile.

Starbucks and Einstein Bros. contribute another 20,000 pounds of used coffee grounds a year to the fertilization of university landscaping.

“We pick up the grounds daily and distribute them on grass, palms and other trees. The coffee grounds release a small amount of nitrogen and other elements,” said Diego Hurtado, Aramark’s facility grounds manager at FIU. Hurtado, who works under the direction of the FIU Facilities and Management team, collaborated with Students for Environmental Action and Oestreich on the initiative. “It’s a small amount, but it’s better than the grounds winding up at the landfill.”

Going tray-less has saved approximately 25 percent on Panther Dining’s water usage, a vindication for Aramark after an initial unfavorable reaction from the students. The Reusable-To-Go containers program has an average of 80 students participating every semester and has reduced the consumption of styrofoam containers by about 1,000. The new initiatives have been budget neutral (they cover their own costs with the savings they create) or have resulted in only minor increases in cost.

The Biscayne Bay Campus participates in the recycling program and is considering adding the Reusable-To-Go containers program.

Buoyed by the success of its current initiatives, Panther Dining/Aramark is continuing to evaluate its operations and adopting new “green” ideas to benefit the university.

Said Oestreich, “We are looking into sustainable catering options such as biodegradable serving wear and chemical-free cleaning, where the use of ionized water would replace chemicals. We’re also considering a better composting system where both pre- and post-consumer waste could be composted.”

— Emily Cochrane