What We're Doing on Campus

Available at all dining locations, diverting Styrofoam waste from landfills. Find out more about our OZZI O2GO Program.

In 2017 USF Dining partnered with Cupanion and introduced reusable cup program and diverted 1 million units of trash from the landfill in the first year while also reducing our carbon footprint. 

Did you know Dining Services sources food from many local farmers, growers and distributors? The list changes throughout the year depending on seasonality and availability.  Bay Coffee & Tea Company, A Tampa locally-owned, USDA organic and Fairtrade coffee roaster and purveyor, offers an extensive organic coffee menu, including lattes, smoothies, and fresh baked goods. Located at Argos Exchange, on the first floor of the Argos Building.

USF Dining, in collaboration with the Center for Student Well-Being, have donated approximately 5,000 pounds of fresh produce and leftover baked goods and produce, from Panera Bread in the Marshall Student Center, since March 2017, to the on-campus Feed-A-Bull food pantry. To visit the Feed-a-Bull website and learn more, please click here. 

One hundred percent of Dining Services’ used fryer oil is recycled.

USF Dining has been serving 100 percent cage-free shell eggs since 2015 and is transitioning to 100 percent cage-free liquid eggs by 2020.

As part of the Sip Smarter Initiative, USF Dining has eliminated all plastic straws and stirrers from Residential Dining locations. Plastic straws are gradually being eliminated within retail locations and replaced with Eco-friendly-paper straws. Our Starbucks on campus have begun to replace straws with their new sip lid cups for a selection of drinks.

USF Dining utilizes green products and services that have a lesser or reduced effect on health and the environment when compared with competing products or services that serve the same purpose. For green cleaning, this means ensuring human health (for the occupant and the worker), providing a service without harming our environment, and minimizing our environmental footprint.

To further measure and manage food waste, we’ve installed LeanPath’s industry-leading food waste prevention smart meters. We are enabling real-time food waste tracking and insights that help drive behavioral change.

In 2018, USF was selected to be a part of Lean Path Phase II of the post-consumer pilot. The LeanPath Post Consumer Pilot is designed to identify and measure the impact on how much food waste is produced by customers when you educate them on what is currently being wasted. Originally we were measuring post-consumer food waste without students’ knowledge but obtained the digital signage screens in Spring of 2018. These screens allow the Hub to Display information about how much is currently being wasted. The digital signage is accompanied with other communication about waste minimization to connect knowledge with action.

The Nest at USF St. Petersburg is home to the ORCA, our food waste biodigester. This machine aids in recycling, greenhouse gas reduction, food waste reduction, sustainability, and waste diversion compliance. The ORCA recycles food waste by breaking it down into water (mainly), and some carbs, fats and proteins which are then captured or repurposed by the wastewater treatment plant. ORCA's effluent is fully recovered and recycled throughout its life. ORCA is a 100% recycling solution.