What We're Doing on Campus

JMU Dining Services cares about more than only what you eat - we care about where it’s sourced.

We are proud to work with organizations committed to sourcing local food such as 4P Foods in Warrenton, VA and Produce Source Partners in Richmond, VA. These organizations work with local farmers to provide support services, infrastructure and market opportunities - enabling producers to provide locally sourced food to organizations. JMU Dining is then able to provide the JMU campus with local products sourced within 150 miles or the state of Virginia. While the list of farmers and producers rotates throughout the year depending on seasonality and availability, here are some of the partners we work with:

Saunders Brothers, Morris Orchard, Caromont Farm, Mountain View Farm, Seven Hills Food, Virginia Vinegar Works, Farmer Focus, Carpe Donut, Blue Ridge Bucha, Twin Oaks Tofu, Deep Roots Milling, Falling Bark Farm, Mr. J’s Bagels, NoBull Burger, Papa Weaver’s Pork, Walnut Winds Farm, Rt. 11 Chips, Ula Tortilla.

You can shop local on campus by checking out the Local Section at Mr. Chips and Jemmy's Corner Market. Use your dining dollars to buy a variety of tasty treats like maple syrup, honey, granola bars, Broad Porch Coffee grounds and more! 

We are committed to identifying and implementing a long-term solution for organic waste at JMU.

We currently compost all pre-consumer waste in dining locations, and all pre and post-consumer waste is composted in residential dining halls. In the residential dining locations, food scraps are broken down by a pulper and placed into a composting compactor for pick-up.

JMU Dining aligns with the University on recycling efforts. In addition to recycling with the University, Dining also recycles 100% of used fryer oil in conjunction with Restaurant Technologies, who diverts the oil into biodiesel or animal feed.

Waste Reduction through Enable:
JMU Dining participates with Enable and their powerful application to help our organization understand exactly how and why food is being wasted and then take decisive action to achieve real, measurable results. Through Enable’s automated system, we strive to prevent food waste by understanding where inefficiencies occur and how we can eliminate over-preparing food.

JMU Dining Services follows a similar approach to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Food Waste Scale, with source reduction being the first step to managing a waste stream. Once all unnecessary waste is eliminated, we determine another purpose or reuse the material. We routinely donate unused food to local community organizations such as Hope Distributed, Our Community Place, and others after closing locations for semester breaks. During the 2023-2024 school year, we donated over 7,000 pounds of food to these local organizations. We also work with The Pantry @ JMU by providing a routine supply of fresh fruit and produce. The on-campus food pantry is open to any students and completely free, no questions asked. The Pantry created a meal voucher program in 2020, where students can get access to meal vouchers for food locations on campus if in need. We have donated over 9,500 vouchers that go directly back to students, since its inception.

• Dukes Punch for Dukes: students can donate their extra meal punches to students facing food insecurity anytime at the cash registers at Market 64, Mr. Chips, and Festival. They can also donate during our tabling events throughout the year. All they have to do is swipe their JACard, tell the worker how many punches they are donating and it will deduct from their account. Please note that a donated punch will count towards a student's daily retail punch limit. We then provide the on-campus pantry with paper vouchers for approved students to use. It is a great way to do good and feed a hungry Duke! 

JMU Dining hosts a wide array of local vendors on campus for our Farmer’s Market. 

We allow students to use Dining and Flex in addition to cash and credit. Our Sustainability Team works with our vendors to encourage awareness and education on the importance of supporting the local economy and food system, while engaging with the community. Our market is held from September through October in the fall and after Spring Break through the end of the semester in the spring. During that time period it is held every Wednesday from 9am – 4pm on the Madison Union Patio.

JMU Dining continues to be focused on reducing the waste created on campus. Our programs offer opportunities for students to take this action into their own hands by directly cutting waste out of their lives.

• Reusable To-Go Containers - We offer free reusable to-go containers for students and staff at Market 64, Bistro 1908, Memorial, and Festival. Follow these easy steps to live more sustainably on campus.
  
  
  • Ask a team member to receive your food in a clean reusable container
    • At your desired station within a participating location, ask for a reusable container when you order.
    • To get a salad from the salad bar in Market 64, ask a cashier for a container first. 
    • Due to sanitary concerns, guests must receive a clean container from staff for each order. We cannot accept any personal tubberware. 
  • Enjoy your food
    • Sit down and eat onsite or take the container to eat elsewhere. 
  • Return the container at a participating location 
    • Remove any food scraps and place container in the collection bins located at Market 64, Bistro 1908, Memorial, Festival, Rose Library (by Starbucks), and the Union front desk so our team can wash them.
    • If you show a cashier that you are returning it, you'll get a free JMU Dining coupon for locations around campus!
    • You do not have to return the container to the same location you got it from. 
    • Please return them in a timely manner to ensure we have enough to service other guests. 
    • Always ensure containers are returned before school breaks. 
  • Continue the cycle!
    • Use another reusable container the next time you eat to continue dining sustainably and reducing your plastic paw-print! 
  
  

• Personal Reusable Bottles and Mugs – You can bring your personal reusable mug or cup for dinks in any of our locations. Bring one along for your next coffee or fountain drink!
  •  Receive a discount when you bring your own mug to Starbucks, Merge Coffee, Java City, or Dunkin!

JMU Dining Services understands the importance of vegan and vegetarian dining. 

All residential, retail and Grab-n-Go locations have vegan and vegetarian options available at breakfast, lunch, and dinner and always contain complete-proteins. Our residential dining halls each have a dedicated vegan station while also having numerous other “build-your-own” stations that can be customized as vegan or vegetarian. Additionally, we prioritize events at dining locations that continue to educate and provide unique vegetarian and vegan options.

Our commitment to JMU is to integrate local and sustainable offerings in the dining facilities.

The Sustainability Team puts on Local Taste Cart events in which we offer potential local menu or retail items for students to test. We seek out third-party certified options, including but not limited to:

• Monterey Bay Seafood Watch List

• Cage-Free shell Eggs

• 100% Grass-fed beef

• Fair Trade Certified

• Organic products/ produce

• Rainforest Alliance

• Certified American Humane Certified

The Sustainability Team regularly engages in the local and JMU community in order to further educate individuals.

Educational opportunities are the primary way our team engages with the University to create sustainable change. Through our various events, tablings, tours, collaborations and hands-on activities, we raise awareness and empower students toward a more sustainable lifestyle.

Below is a sampling of outreach and education activities conducted by JMU Dining:

• Tabling and Information Sessions
• Campus Organization Collaboration
• Guided Dining Hall Tours
• Student Outreach
• Curriculum Support
• Theme Meals
• Health and Wellness Partnership
• Community Support
• Service     
• Cross-Institutional Collaboration

The Sustainability Internship program is focused on advancing sustainability through dining-related activities. Each intern is involved with peer-to-peer education on content, such as local foods, waste reduction techniques, executing educational tabling, and running sustainability events. Interns have the ability focus their own initiatives based on their area of study and/or environmental passion. Ongoing projects include, but are not limited to: our on-campus farmers markets and reusable container program. If interested in becoming a JMU Dining Sustainability Intern please reach out to the Sustainability Coordinator (contact below). Pay rate is $13 per hour and students must work at least three hours per week, with maximum hours per week capped at 15 hours based on workstream availability.

Our commitment to sustainability includes both our food and our facilities. Whenever possible we choose third-party verified options and seek green building certifications, included but not limited to:

• Virginia Green: We are proud participants of the Virginia Green campaign. Virginia Green is the Commonwealth of Virginia’s campaign to promote environmentally-friendly practices in all aspects of Virginia’s tourism industry.
  • JMU has 12 locations VA Green Certified. JMU Dining Services has won the 2018 Green Dining Services of the Year Award, 2019 Travel Leader Award, 2021 Green Dining Services of the Year Award, and 2022 Travel Leader Award.
  • 

• Green Restaurant: E-Hall, D-Hall, and Bistro 1908 all exceed environmental sustainability criteria in six categories - successfully accomplishing waste minimization, responsible sourcing, and efficient operations in order to gain this recognition. They are the only certified green restaurants in Harrisonburg.
• 

Coolfood Meals are certified low carbon recipes. 

Different foods have different carbon footprints based on the energy and resources required. These meals have been certified by the World Resource Institute to have 38% lower emissions than the average regional meal and have met certain nutritional requirements. While most Coolfood meals are plant-based, there are also many recipes with animal proteins. Each meal is a delicious way to help the planet! Look for the Coolfood certification badge in D-hall, E-hall, and Panera. 

• Learn more about Coolfoods here

For more information on JMU's commitment to the environment, please contact us: 

Gabriella Fox, Sustainability Coordinator

Call 540-280-8211 or email: fox-gabriella@aramark.com