2.2.1 Campus food waste tracking

Catering services for students and staff:

Zero Food Waste Initiative and Nutrition Support

Boğaziçi University focuses on providing catering services to approximately 13,000 students and 2,000 staff. Three meals a day are served at the university's campuses, with five different options. Boğaziçi University supports accessibility and diversity by offering vegan and vegetarian menu options.

The menus are prepared by the Health, Sports and Culture Directorate by food engineers, taking into account dietary habits, health status and daily calorie requirements. Calorie information is provided in advance to prevent food waste, make efficient use of resources and promote access to healthy food.

https://yemekhane.bogazici.edu.tr/

Monitoring food waste 

The University also takes great care in monitoring and reporting waste. Unpopular dishes are removed from menus and various methods are used to reduce food waste. These methods include portion control, composting leftovers and giving surplus food to those in need.

All menus for the following month are announced in advance for regular and vegetarian options, while staff and students can choose vegan and vegetarian options. Detailed information about the meals can be found on the website of the Directorate of Health, Sport and Culture. 

https://yemekhane.bogazici.edu.tr/

Boğaziçi University Food Waste Amount in 2024 (in KG by Months) 
Total Food Waste Amount: 50993kg

2024 Food Waste Report

2024 Sustainability Report SDG-2 (Related Section)

Campus Food Waste

Boğaziçi University Dining Hall provides comprehensive dining services to approximately 13,000 students and 2,000 staff. While Hisar Campus serves lunch only on weekdays, breakfast, lunch and dinner are served 7 days a week at the North, South, Anadolu Hisarı, Kandilli and Kilyos Campuses. Each student and staff member is served a 4- course meal (soup, main course, side dish and elective) with a vegan/vegetarian option for the main course.

Menus are prepared by food engineers affiliated to the Department of Health, Culture and Sports, taking into account the principles of balanced nutrition and average daily calorie needs. In order to prevent food waste, to use resources efficiently and to encourage conscious nutrition, the calories of the meals and the weight of the ingredients used are determined in advance and shared on the cafeteria website.

Monitoring of Food Waste

The University places great importance on monitoring and reporting waste and has implemented various methods to prevent food waste. All menus for the following month are announced in advance, including regular and vegan/vegetarian options. Students, staff and guests can fill out the satisfaction survey on the cafeteria's website and provide their opinions and suggestions about the meals. Dishes that are not liked are removed from the menus in line with this feedback. In order to reduce food waste, methods such as portion control, sending food waste to animal shelters and delivering surplus food to those in need are implemented. In addition, organic wastes are recycled by composting and vegetable oils are sent to recycling facilities for biodiesel production. Thus, catering services are carried out within the framework of sustainability principles.

For detailed information:

https://yemekhane.bogazici.edu.tr/

Boğaziçi University 2023 Food Waste Amounts (kg/day)

2023 Total Food Waste: 24.3 tonnes

2023 Total Waste Oil Amount: 5.5 tonnes

Boğaziçi University 2023 Food Waste Monitoring Report:

https://impact.bogazici.edu.tr/sites/impact.bogazici.edu.tr/files/food_waste_2023_bu.pdf

Compost and Recycling Systems