Our Commitment to Sustainability

At UMD Dining Services, sustainability is an ongoing commitment to making thoughtful decisions about the food we serve, the resources we use, and the waste we produce.

We recognize that operating a large campus dining program comes with environmental responsibilities. Our goal is to continuously improve our practices, reduce unnecessary waste, and make meaningful progress toward a more sustainable dining experience.

We are committed to:

• Providing quality, nourishing foods that support the well-being of our guests and the environment.
• Creating inclusive dining experiences through diverse menus, seasonal ingredients, and opportunities to explore new foods.
• Offering affordable, sustainable dining options.
• Sourcing ingredients locally when possible to support regional producers, strengthen our local economy, and reduce transportation-related environmental impacts.
• Reducing food waste through thoughtful preparation, responsible purchasing, composting, recycling, and food repurposing.
• Empowering our staff to incorporate sustainable practices into daily operations.
• Continuously improving operational efficiency to conserve water, energy, and other resources.

Reducing food waste is an important part of our sustainability efforts. We focus on preventing unnecessary waste, finding opportunities to redistribute surplus food, and responsibly managing materials that cannot be reused.

Waste Prevention

We continually evaluate our food production and preparation practices to identify opportunities to reduce overproduction and use resources more efficiently.

Food Recovery: Bulldog Bites

Through our upcoming Bulldog Bites initiative, UMD Dining Services will provide surplus prepared food to students, helping reduce food waste while making additional food available to our campus community.

By finding new ways to put prepared food to good use, we can better utilize our resources while supporting students.

Composting and Recycling

We maintain composting and recycling practices throughout our dining operations and continue exploring opportunities to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills.

Using Technology to Improve

Thanks to newly awarded grant funding, UMD Dining Services is preparing to introduce food waste tracking and prevention software designed to help us better understand food production and waste.

This technology will help our culinary team identify opportunities to reduce overproduction, improve production planning, and make more informed decisions about how much food to prepare.

As we implement this technology, we hope to establish measurable benchmarks and track our progress toward reducing food waste over time.

Sustainability is not a one-time achievement. As our dining program evolves, we will continue evaluating our practices, exploring new technologies, and identifying opportunities to reduce our environmental impact.

Our focus is on measurable improvements and meaningful actions that support both our campus community and the environment.