Emory’s Dining Program earns international recognition for sustainability for sixth consecutive year

Emory University’s dining program has once again been recognized as a top performer by the 2026 Sustainable Campus Index, marking the sixth consecutive year Emory has received this honor from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). AASHE is an international nonprofit membership organization that works to build sustainability on campuses. 

Emory has long prioritized locally sourced and sustainably produced food in its dining halls. A variety of investments have helped Emory achieve the best-in-class performance target in the Sustainable Campus Index for food and dining, including:

• Establishing the Sustainable Food Committee in 2007, a group of committed students, staff and faculty who help Emory advance its sustainable food goals
• Creating the Emory Farmers Market, which happens on McDonough Field each Tuesday during the academic year
• Establishing the Oxford Organic Farm in 2014, which serves as a teaching lab and food production venue for the Oxford and Atlanta campus dining halls
• Committing to the purchase of produce from local and small-scale farmers in the metro Atlanta area, through a partnership with The Conservation Fund’s Farms Fund

The Sustainable Campus Index is a publication from AASHE that recognizes top-performing sustainable colleges and universities overall and in 17 impact areas, as measured through the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS).

“Congratulations to Emory University on earning recognition as a top performer in the 2026 Sustainable Campus Index,” said AASHE Executive Director Meghan Fay Zahniser. “Achieving this distinction reflects years of commitment, collaboration and sustained progress across the institution. Top-performing colleges and universities like Emory demonstrate what is possible when sustainability is embedded into institutional priorities and translated into measurable action, helping raise the bar for higher education as a whole.”
 

Sustainable dining options at Emory

Emory earned its Food and Dining Top Performer status by establishing clear sustainability guidelines for food purchasing and building strong relationships between culinary staff and local producers. Currently, approximately 25% of Emory’s total annual food and beverage expenditures go to products that are sustainably or ethically produced. Meanwhile, 46% of total annual food and beverage expenditures are on plant-based foods.

Online menus allow diners to view vegan, vegetarian and local options available every day at each dining location. In Emory Healthcare hospitals, vegan meals are available for patients and in the retail food service areas. 

Emory’s Farmers Market, named one of the 7 Best Farmers Markets in Atlanta, offers easy access to alternative, sustainable food sources. Students can use their Emory Card and meal plans for purchases — and they have, spending  more than $800,000 from their meal plans at the market since fall 2015.
 

Extending efforts beyond campus

Emory’s sustainable food commitment also addresses food waste.

Since 2021, Emory Dining has partnered with the student-run organization Slow Food Emory to pack leftover food from the Dobbs Common Table (DCT) and distribute it at Emory’s Woodruff Library once a week.

Meanwhile, Emory Dining manages a Community Fridge and Pantry with excess food from Bon Appétit’s “to go” program. The fridge is located on the first floor of the Alumni Memorial University Center and is available to anyone on campus.

The hospital cafés make weekly prepared food donations to Second Helpings Atlanta, a local nonprofit food rescue organization. There is also a Food Security Resource Guide to aid members of the Emory community facing food insecurity.

The environmental impacts of food go beyond what ends up on our plates: food packaging and service ware are often single-use plastics. Emory is taking steps to reduce the purchase and use of these plastics in accordance with the university’s Break Free from Plastic Pledge. In addition, in 2024 the single-use compostable food containers at DCT were replaced by reusable stainless steel containers from USEFULL in response to student leadership efforts.