Sustainability

Goals

Bryn Mawr College Dining Services is committed to providing the most environmentally friendly dining program possible and one that supports the BMC Community.

Current Offerings

• Annual Local Food Event

  This year we will host our 2nd annual local food event, The theme for our Opening Picnic is Eric Carle’s Pancakes, Pancakes! In addition to the local food served at the meal, Dining Services will be inviting students to outings to local farms and orchards, and to help plant an herb garden on campus to provide fresh herbs for use in the dining halls.

• Local Produce

  Currently BMCDS offers local fruits seasonally, we are working to increase the proportion of local foods available in the Dining Halls.

   

• Organic Offerings

  We offer a number of organic products (e.g. milk, produce, cereal, etc) and we are working on increasing our organic offerings. We also offer a variety of prepared organic foods in our cafes, such as Amy's.

• Recycling

  We recycle in all of our dining halls and cafes, and provide recycling at all of our outdoor special events. Our napkins and paper used in our offces are made from recycled paper, to reduce paper waste.

   

• Bio-degradable Takeout

  All foam takeout containers have now been switched to take-out containers made from cornstarch and sugarcane, and are 100% biodegradable. Additionally, all of our foam takeout cups have been replaced with greenware, and all incoming freshmen are provided with free travel mugs that they can use to carry beverages out of the dining halls. We encourage the use of reusable travel mugs in our cafes by offering discounts to students who bring in their mugs instead of using paper cups.

   

• Fair Trade Coffees and Teas

  The dining halls feature fair trade Green Mountain Coffees, which means that the coffee growers received a fair price for their coffee. The cafes offer Pura Vida coffee, Pura Vida uses part of the proceeds from the sale of their coffees to support education in coffee growing countries.

• Living Wage

  Full time staff at Dining Services are paid above the living wage for the Philadelphia area. More information about the living wage can be found here.

• Student Organizations

  Dining Services partners and works with BMC Greens to continue to develop sustainable practices in our operations. Examples of projects include moving to bio-degradable take out containers, food waste reduction campaign, napkin use reduction project, and recycling.

• Philabundance

  BMCDS works with Philabundance, the regions largest food bank, to provide food that might otherwise go to waste to those who need it most.

   

• Waste Oil Pickup

  The waste oil from our dining halls is picked up to find its second life as bio-diesel.

   

In The Works

• Cage-free eggs
• Food waste composting program
• Additional local foods all year round