Dining Services

food waste infographic csueb

Did you know that wasted food is a local and global problem with profound financial, social, and environmental impacts?

  • Wasted food is the #1 item in the landfill. In the US, we throw away enough food to fill the Oakland Coliseum to the top 1.5 times each day.
  • Approximately 40% of food in the US goes to waste – that’s like going to the grocery store, buying 5 bags of produce, and dropping two on your walk home without picking them back up.
  • Wasted food is a significant contributor to the climate crisis. In the US alone, the production of lost or wasted food generates the equivalent of 37 million cars’ worth of greenhouse gas emissions.
  • If global food waste was a country, it would be the 3rd largest contributor to greenhouse gases behind the US and China. Reducing wasted food is an easy way to minimize your climate impact.


CSU East Bay's Pioneer Kitchen met the certification requirements for a Level 1 Certified Green Restaurant® on 5/24/2024. The review found that this primary campus eatery has implemented 37 environmental steps and achieved 195.26 GreenPoints. The certification document can be found here.