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Sustainable Dining

Students planting crops at Homefield Farm. Photo by Darren Van Dyke for Virginia Tech.

Students planting crops at Homefield Farm. Photo by Darren Van Dyke for Virginia Tech.

We believe in a sustainable future for Virginia Tech.

At Dining Services, sustainability is a core part of our mission. Our vision for sustainable campus dining is part of how we design our dining centers, source our ingredients, and our commitment to recycling and composting programs. We believe our initiatives positively impact our Blacksburg campus and the broader community.

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    The Hokie Bird holding a recycling badge
    Waste Minimization

    Our Dining Centers work to limit the amount of waste sent to landfills in several ways. Food waste from back and front of house operations is diverted to a Virginia composting facility that converts it to specialty soils for farming and landscaping. Dining Services’ recycling initiatives assists the broader campus effort to maintain a 40% recycling rate on campus.

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    Tractor at Homefield Farm
    Homefield Farm

    The centerpiece of our local dining initiative is Homefield Farm, which is a partnership between Dining Services, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences. The 12-acre, organic operation is student-driven and supplies dining centers with more than 45,000 pounds of fresh produce, along with running a farm stand on campus each fall.

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    Reusable to-go container being handed form one person to another
    Reusable To-Go Program

    Our “R2G” program started in 2010 at the request of our students. The green, to-go meal containers are free to use and are returned for cleaning and reuse, keeping unnecessary food packaging out of landfills.

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    Salad photo by Darren Van Dyke for Virginia Tech.
    Local and Sustainable Sourcing

    Virginia Tech Dining Services strives to support campus-sourced ingredients produced by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

A picture of tomatoes in Homefield Farm. Photo by Darren Van Dyke for Virginia Tech.

A picture of tomatoes in Homefield Farm. Photo by Darren Van Dyke for Virginia Tech.