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Overview

Photo of the Lobby at the Stanford Guest House

overview

From compostable serviceware and zero-waste events to local, organic, and fair purchasing practices, Stanford Hospitality & Auxiliaries is committed to sustaining the social, environmental, and economic systems on which our food system depends.  Through a dedicated team of chefs, managers, and staff, sustainability is an integral part of our food culture and is an important part of the services we provide to our customers and clients.

Our commitment to sustainability is brought to life through our Sustainable Food Program, which is a collaborative effort that includes strategic partnerships with vendors and suppliers, students, staff, faculty and other campus stakeholders. Through these partnerships, the Sustainable Food Program seeks to create positive impact across three areas of focus: education, outreach and awareness; collaboration and partnership; and wellness and culinary excellence.

Guest House

Sustainability
at The Stanford Guest House

Your decision to stay with us on "the Farm" is not unlike the decision you might make to buy produce from a farmer's market in that your dollars remain in the local economy. In our case, as an auxiliary of the University, your dollars stay right here in the Stanford community and ultimately help to fund important residential education programs for Stanford undergraduates.

No matter how conscientious you are, offsetting or even mitigating the environmental impact of your travels is difficult. If youhave business on the Stanford campus, we can offer some relief through the Marguerite, which is Stanford's award-winning public transit system that will get you from our door to any place on the campus within just a few minutes. We also employ water-friendly laundry services and offer our guests Fair Trade coffee exclusively.

Catering

Stanford Catering's Executive Chef Andrew Main prepares for an event.

Sustainability
in our Catering Operations

Stanford Hospitality & Auxiliaries’ catering operations is dedicated to providing local, organic, and seasonal menu options for its clients. To support this, we have developed close relationships with many independent and local suppliers of organic and other sustainable products, including ALBA Organics, Marin Sun Farms, and Central Coast Seafood, which ensures that we know where and by whom our food is grown and raised. We also support our campus community by purchasing produce grown by students right here on the Stanford campus.

We are proud to say that our efforts have been recognized: our catering operations is honored to be the only university foodservice provider to be invited to participate in Monterey Bay Aquarium's "Cooking for Solutions", which is the Aquarium's showcase sustainable culinary event of the year that features gourmet food prepared by thought leading chefs in the sustainable food movement.

Retail Cafes

Stanford Catering's Executive Chef Andrew Main prepares for an event.

Sustainability
at The Retail Cafes

We evaluate the sustainability of every item we purchase to ensure that our decisions are in the best interest of our environment, of the social and economic systems on which our food depends, and of the health of those to whom we serve food.

We also take our waste and your waste very seriously. All of our kitchens compost scraps from food preparation and recycle plastics, cans, foil, and paper and we've become the only foodservice provider on campus to convert all of our serviceware, from straws to sushi trays, to compostable options.

How to Eat Sustainably

Photo of the Lobby at the Stanford Guest House

How to Eat Sustainably

The food we choose to eat can have a significant impact on the environment. In fact most estimates suggest that the food we consume accounts for over one quarter of our total environmental footprint, when you consider the impact of production, transportation, preparation, and disposal. Studies have even shown that the type of diet you choose to eat can have a greater environmental impact than the type of car you choose to drive.

Compared to the many ways in which our decisions can have an impact, food is unique among them in that we have an opportunity three times every day to make a difference. To find out more about what's happening with sustainable food on campus, check out the Sustainability Report by Residential & Dining Enterprises' Sustainable Food Program.