Westtown Dining Services Recognitions

Westtown School Dining Services has earned 4-Star Certified Green Restaurant Ⓡ recertification from the Green Restaurant Association (GRA)! Dining Services at Westtown first earned a 4-Star rating back in 2019. The GRA’s standards “reflect over 30 years of research in the field of restaurants and the environment. Thousands of restaurants and hundreds of thousands of restaurant personnel have provided the living laboratory for the continued evolution of the GRA Standards. The purpose of the GRA standards is to provide a transparent way to measure each restaurant’s environmental accomplishments, while providing a pathway for the next steps they can take to increase their environmental sustainability.” 

Restuarants are evaluated in several categories such as: energy and water use, recycling, reusable disposables, chemicals and pollution, food, buildings, and education transparency. This 4-Star designation by the Green Restaurant Association—an honor rarely given to a school dining facility—was awarded to our Dining Services after being evaluated in six categories: energy, water, waste, food, disposables, and chemical use. Thirty seven percent of all food served in our Dining Room is locally sourced. Our Dining Room serves produce from the student farm year round, as well as produce from 80 area farms through Philadelphia’s Common Market. 

Westtown’s Dining Services team has also been awarded The Slow Food Snail of Approval by the Slow Food organization. “The Slow Food Snail of Approval award is a recognition given to food and beverage establishments that are pursuing and practicing Slow Food values in their business. This is more than about making good food — it’s about making commitments to the environment, local communities, employees and purveyors, and our core values of antiracism and anti-oppression.” The Snail of Approval is awarded based on evaluations focused on the following six areas: sourcing, environmental impact, cultural connection, community involvement, staff support, and business values.

Congratulations to our Dining Services Team on these recognitions!