Our Initiatives

As a guest, it is easy to make smart environmental choices when you dine at a Sodexo café. We know today's college students want to do the right thing for the planet and we also understand you lead busy lives, so your Sodexo chefs and managers do a lot of the work for you behind the scenes! From purchasing local seasonal produce whenever possible to reducing inorganic and organic waste, your campus team is dedicated to providing you with an exceptional dining experience that is good for you and good for the planet. This commitment was formalized with Sodexo's Better Tomorrow Plan. The Better Tomorrow Plan includes 18 commitments for a brighter future by focusing on four key priorities: health, planet, community and people. While your Sodexo team works hard behind the scenes, they also count on student engagement and enthusiasm to spread the word about what we are doing together on your campus. We encourage you to contact us if you have comments or ideas for a more sustainable dining operation. We would love to hear from you.

3 Star Certified Green Restaurant

Gladfelter Dining Hall has been officially recognized as a 3-star Certified Green Restaurant since the summer of 2023! We earned this prestigious status through our deep commitment to the planet and sustainable campus dining.

What Makes Campus Dining Green?

• Plant-Forward Menus: A massive selection of vibrant vegan and vegetarian options.
• Waste Reduction: Extensive, full-scale composting and recycling programs.
• Zero Polystyrene: A strict campus commitment to being 100% styrofoam-free.
• Community Care: Regularly donating our leftover food to reduce waste and help others.

The Race to 4 Stars

We are not stopping here! Our team is already working on implementing even more eco-friendly practices to achieve the ultimate goal: a 4-star rating, the highest level of green restaurant certification.

From Waste to Wealth: Our Campus Composting Mission

Food waste trapped in landfills creates methane—a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than CO2 (according to the EPA). That is why our top priority is reducing food waste before it ever hits the bin.

For the leftovers we cannot avoid, we have teamed up with the Garden Crew to turn waste into a superpower. By composting on campus, we:

• Slash Emissions: Keep harmful methane out of our atmosphere.
• Supercharge Soil: Create nutrient-rich compost that improves soil structure and health.
• Save Water: Build drought-resistant grounds that require less watering.
• Ditch Chemicals: Naturally nourish our campus plants without synthetic fertilizers.

Vegan Options

Dining on campus is easy when you are vegan. We have plenty of vegan options, especially in Cowpie Cafe, our student run café, dedicated to vegan and vegetarian dishes.

Fighting Hunger, Reducing Waste

We believe good food belongs on plates, not in the compost. Through our proud partnership with Food Connection, our freshly prepared surplus food is safely rescued and redistributed to individuals and families facing food insecurity throughout Swannanoa and the broader Asheville community. Together, we have diverted thousands of pounds of fresh, edible food from waste streams and channeled it directly into community nourishment.

Reusable To-Go Program

Join the Movement, Ditch the Disposable!

Get ready to level up how you eat on campus! We have teamed up with Fill it Forward to bring you an eco-friendly takeout experience built for life on the go.

Fill it Forward

• Zero Waste, All Flavor: Ditch single-use throwaways and switch to durable, planet-friendly reusable containers.
• Eat Anywhere: Pack your lunch, head outdoors, catch some sun, and eat on your own schedule.
• Ultimate Convenience: Fast, flexible meals that fit your busiest class days.

How It Works:

1. Download the free Fill it Forward app to your phone.

2. Buy your digital ticket for just $10 at Gladfelter (we accept Hoot Loot, cash, or credit).

3. Power a greener campus every time you take your meal to go!

Get Your $10 Pass at Gladfelter & Start Reusing Today!

Local Suppliers

Our dining hall proudly serves campus-raised meat and campus-grown produce. Our campus farm supplies us with the fresh, grass-fed beef, raised in our backyard! We work closely with regional food distributors to procure local fruits and vegetables when in season as well as support local farmers and artisans who supply us with fair-trade and organic goods. Post COVID challenges, we are purchasing 15% local and are committed to raising that percentage by continually researching local and organic food alternatives.

Tork Xpressnap

Xpressnap dispensers cut paper waste by 30% compared to traditional napkin systems, protecting the environment while reducing operational costs.

Made entirely from 100% recycled paper, each dispenser encourages guests to take only what they need. Because recycling paper requires far less energy than manufacturing virgin pulp, switching to Xpressnap creates tangible, real-world savings:

• 30% Less Paper Waste: Intuitive one-at-a-time dispensing keeps unnecessary napkins out of the trash.
• Energy Conserved: Saves enough power annually to run 600 American homes for an entire year.
• Fossil Fuels Saved: Cuts oil consumption by over 500,000 gallons—the equivalent of 38 tanker trucks.
• Cleaner Air: Keeps 41 tons of harmful pollutants out of the atmosphere.
• Landfills Diverted: Keeps 4,131 cubic yards of paper out of landfills—enough to cover an entire football field with a 2.5-foot-deep stack of paper!

Trayless

We are a trayless campus. Customers without trays typically waste less food and beverages. It is also a healthier approach to eating, as we all know that at times our eyes are bigger than our stomach. Trayless dining also reduces the amount of water and detergents needed to wash trays - and saves energy too!

Apex

As part of its commitment to increase the sustainability of its operations, Dining Services uses Ecolab’s Apex™ dishwashing system. Apex combines technology and products designed to save water and energy, minimize the impact of products on the environment, and has a built-in method of measuring results. Apex uses a unique combination of detergents, rinse additives, equipment and consultative services to address the operational challenges in food-service operations.