Take a look at all of the ways that Bama Dining supports sustainability in the kitchen!
- Recycling: Bama Dining partners with the University to provide recyclable bins at all locations for plastic, aluminum cans, and cardboard. Additionally, all used oil is collected and recycled by a local company, and Bama Dining prioritizes purchasing recycled materials from local vendors whenever available.
- Local Food: All Bama Dining managers are required to purchase locally grown and produced products whenever available. Locally grown fruits and vegetables are purchased from Adams Produce. Bread is purchased from the local Tuscaloosa Flowers Bakery. Milk is purchased from the local Dairy Fresh distributor. All Alabama products used in Bama Dining locations are indicated with the Homegrown Alabama logo.
- Composting: Bama Dining has reduced the impact to the local landfill by over 4,000 pounds per week. Pre-consumer “green matter” from vegetable and fruit peels is delivered to the University of Alabama Arboretum to mix with the leaves or “brown matter” from the University of Alabama Grounds Department to create beautiful compost that is a treasure to the Tuscaloosa community.
- Fair Trade Coffee: Bama Dining is Fair Trade Certified, ensuring that our imported products meet strict international criteria, including providing credit and technical assistance to farmers. Fair Trade principles emphasize fair pricing, labor conditions, direct trade, democratic and transparent organizations, community development, and environmental sustainability. This certification empowers farmers and farm workers to invest in their farms and communities, protect the environment, and develop the business skills needed to compete in the global marketplace.
- Transportation: Bama Dining utilizes electric carts to transport staff and operations supplies to the 18 dining locations across campus.
- Lighting: By reducing the light usage in all Bama Dining locations (i.e. off peak hours, closed hours), Bama Dining has played a significant role in helping the University reduce its overall kilowatt usage by more than 1.6 million kilowatts in the past year.
- Cleaning: Bama Dining cleans responsibly. Over 99% of all cleaning supplies and chemicals used in all dining locations are safe for our customers and the environment.