Sustainability  

Environmental sustainability is part of Campus Dining. Our goal is to provide healthy options and eco-friendly programs to improve your quality of life.

Food donation: sustaining the community 

We make regular donations to the Northern Arizona Food Bank.

Hooper Fund

We support the Hooper Student Fund with an annual contribution. The Hooper Student Fund grants monetary awards of up to $2,500 for student projects that advance sustainability at Northern Arizona University or in northern Arizona.

Recycle

We recycle all of the cardboard from product shipments. Additionally, we give every incoming freshman a reusable water bottle, and we have a free fill station with reverse-osmosis filtered water in the University Union.

Reuse

Our used cooking oil is converted to biodiesel and used to fuel buses on campus.

Recycled products

Our napkins are made from 100 percent recycled material.

Eco-friendly chemicals  

All of our chemicals for washing dishes in resident dining halls are certified "green" products supplied by Ecolab.

Biodegradable 

We supply biodegradable to-go containers at Garden Toss.

Waste reduction

We have launched a food waste awareness campaign in our resident dining operations and are now a trayless operation.

Composting

In collaboration with the Office of Sustainability, we developed a composting program at the du Bois Center which focuses on pre-consumer food waste and creates quality soil additions for the Students for Sustainable Living and Urban Gardening (SSLUG) garden.

Vendors

We work with vendors who implement environmentally-friendly practices, including:

  • Mission Linen
  • Shamrock Farms
  • Ecolab
  • Earthbound Farms

Buy local

We buy local produce through our local supplier, Stern's Produce. Our milk comes from Shamrock Farms, a Phoenix-based dairy.

Organic options

The Campus Market and Oasis offers healthy alternatives, such as:

  • organic
  • vegan
  • vegetarian
  • allergen-free

We also serve organic spring mix and fresh spinach in our resident dining halls and salad operations.

Visit Green NAU for information on university-wide sustainability efforts.