Food and Dining

Bon Appétit provides Vassar with quality, sustainable dining for its residential populations. Bon Appétit has a plant-forward focus, ensuring that all meals spotlight fresh, healthy, and environmentally-friendly fruits and vegetables—including food grown at the Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve by the Poughkeepsie Farm Project. Purchasing locally-grown food for campus dining facilities is also a key priority, as is serving exclusively cage-free eggs and seafood that meets Seafood Watch sustainability requirement.

Vassar has banned the sale of bottled water on campus in vending machines. This policy alone has prevented tens of thousands of water bottles from being sent to landfills. Many vending machines specifically highlight sustainable food and beverage selections as an alternative to more traditional, less sustainable offerings.

Green2Go is Vassar’s reusable to-go container program, which provides a convenient way to reduce waste while eating from a sturdy stylish reusable container.

Interested in joining the program? Use the Green2Go Enrollment Form. After enrolling, you’ll be notified where you can pick up your Green2Go token and laminated tag. You’ll then be able to use that to get a reusable to-go container when getting food at The Retreat and Street Eats. Space is limited, so if all available spots are filled, you’ll be notified that you’ve been put on a waiting list.

How does Green2Go work?

When participants are enrolled in the program, they receive a laminated membership tag along with a token to get started. Once you have your card and token, you’ll use the following process to get your meals in a reusable container:

1. Show Your Tag: When you order at the Retreat or Street Eats, hold up the green participant tag you’ve received so your server knows to give you a reusable to-go container instead of a single-use one.
    
2. Drop a Token: Put a token in the bin in front of the station in exchange for the container you’re about to receive.
    
3. Enjoy the Meal: Your server will hand you your meal in a reusable to-go container instead of a single-use one. You may eat there or take it outside or to your room/apartment. Just be sure to bring it back next time!
    
4. Scrape or Rinse It Out: Before bringing the container back, please scrape out any food scraps into a compost bin, if available, and/or empty and rinse the container in the kitchen in your residence hall. Please do not rinse containers in bathroom sinks.
    
5. Bring It Back and Receive a New Token: The Ozzi return machine is located at the Retreat. Remember to insert the container clasped shut and upside-down so the machine can read the barcode on the bottom of the container and process the return. The machine will give you a new token.

What are the containers like?

Each container is made of heavy-duty plastic. Their size is 9" x 9" x 2.5"—big enough to hold plenty of food. This container size was selected to allow it to substitute for either the current single-use plastic containers or the cardboard pizza boxes. All containers are microwave-safe, dishwasher-safe, BPA-free, and FDA-approved for safety.

I have a question that’s not answered above. Who should I contact?

For more information about the Green2Go Program, please contact the Office of Sustainability via sustainability@vassar.edu.