Sustainability

A Taste of New England - Responsibly Sourced and Served Weekly

Thanks to our coastal New England location, we have access to some of the freshest and most responsibly sourced seafood available. At Miley Café, we proudly partner with Red’s Best™, a Boston-based distributor committed to supporting small, independent fishing boats throughout the region.

By working with Red’s Best™, we ensure that the seafood served in Miley Café is:

• Locally caught and traceable
• Sustainably harvested
• Supporting traditional fishing communities and practices

You can enjoy these high-quality seafood selections every Thursday at lunch in Miley Café (Fridays during Lent). Whether it’s baked, grilled, or featured in a seasonal special, our seafood dishes bring the authentic flavor of the Atlantic coast straight to your plate - fresh, ethical, and delicious.

Fresh Flavors. Balanced Choices. Better for You and the Planet.

At Miley Café, we’re proud to offer a wide range of plant-based options every day. Across multiple dining stations, you’ll find delicious, satisfying meals built around vegetarian and vegan proteins.

• Savory Line: Always features a hearty vegetarian entrée option.
• Showcase Station: Offers rotating vegan protein options for stir-fry dishes highlighting global flavors.
• Sprouts Station: 100% plant-based and packed with variety! Find nutritious, balanced, complete meals that go beyond salads.
• Specials & Pop-Ups: Keep an eye out for plant-forward dishes that appear on pop-up menus throughout the week.

Our goal is to make plant-based dining approachable, flavorful, and exciting. By offering high-quality, creative options, we hope to inspire students to try new ingredients, discover different cuisines, and build habits that are both health-conscious and environmentally friendly.

Eating more plants is a small change that makes a big impact—supporting your well-being while helping reduce packaging waste, conserve water, and lower your environmental footprint.

Locally Grown. Seasonally Inspired. Fresh for Our Seahawks.

At Miley Café, we believe in the power of eating with the seasons. Our Harvest of the Month program highlights one locally grown vegetable each month, sourced from regional farms and incorporated into a variety of menu items across campus dining.

By featuring seasonal produce, we aim to:

• Support local farmers and food systems
• Provide students with the freshest, most flavorful ingredients
• Promote sustainable eating habits
• Help our Seahawks connect with where their food comes from

Each month’s featured harvest is thoughtfully woven into our recipes from soups and sides to entrees and grab-and-go items, giving students a delicious way to explore the best of what our region has to offer.

Good food doesn't have to come from far away - Sometimes it's growing just down the road.

A Smarter, Greener Way to Take Your Meal To-Go

With the growing demand for convenient to-go dining, we’re proud to offer a sustainable and cost-effective solution for the Salve Regina community: Ozzi Green To-Go Containers.

For a one-time fee of $6.75 for a bowl or $9.75 for a larger box, students can purchase a reusable Ozzi container at the front desk of Miley Café. Here’s how it works:

1. Grab & Go – Use your Ozzi container to take your meal to-go.
2. Rinse & Return – After use, simply rinse your container and return it to the Miley Host.
3. Swap or Save – Get a clean container on the spot or receive a token to redeem one later.
4. We Handle the Rest – Our team will wash, sanitize, and prepare the container for the next use.

This program reduces waste, supports campus sustainability goals, and gives students a reliable takeout option - all while complying with Rhode Island Board of Health guidelines, which do not allow personal containers in public dining spaces.

Fun Fact: The founder of Ozzi is a proud Salve Regina alumnus! Click here to learn more about their mission.

Partnering with Local Farms to Bring Freshness to Every Plate

At Miley Café, we’re proud to support local farms by sourcing as many fresh, regional ingredients as possible. Through close collaboration with our trusted vendors, we bring the best of the season directly to campus while reducing our environmental impact and supporting the local food economy.

Our professionally trained chefs design menus around what's in season, allowing us to feature local produce at its peak flavor and freshness. You'll find these ingredients throughout our dining stations, in featured dishes, and at pop-up events throughout the semester.

Why local matters:

• Fresher food with better flavor and more nutrients
• Stronger local economies through support of family-owned farms
• Lower environmental impact with fewer miles from farm to plate
• A connection to the land and community where our food is grown

Keep an eye out in Miley Café for signs highlighting fresh, mindful, and locally sourced items, because great food starts close to home.

Some local farm and vendor partnerships include:

Aquidneck Honey | Commonwealth Kitchen | Four Town Farm | Full Bloom Apiaries | The Good Crust | Gotham Greens | Heiwa Soy Beanery | Hillside Harvest | Langwater Farm | Long Lane Farm | Narragansett Creamery | Red’s Best | RI Mushroom Company | Stonyfield Yogurt | Schartner Farms | Ward’s Berry Farm | Zephyr Farm

Reducing Waste

At Miley Café, sustainability is more than a goal - it’s a daily practice. Our dining team is committed to reducing food waste through a robust composting program that captures scraps from both meal preparation and post-meal returns.

All compostable materials collected from the dish return belt and kitchen operations are sent to our partner, the Remix Organics Company. There, the waste is responsibly processed and transformed into nutrient-rich soil used by local farms and community gardens, bringing our food cycle full circle.

By composting, we:

• Reduce landfill waste
• Lower greenhouse gas emissions
• Support healthy soil and sustainable agriculture

Thank you for being part of a greener Salve Regina.

French Fries for a Cause

At Miley Café, even our fryer oil gets a second life! Through our partnership with Mahoney Environmental, all used cooking oil is collected and recycled into biodiesel - a cleaner, renewable alternative to traditional heating fuel.

This sustainable practice helps to reduce waste from our operations, lower our carbon footprint, and support the production of eco-friendly energy

So yes, your fries are helping to fuel a greener future. Learn more about Mahoney Environmental’s biodiesel program here.

Supporting Local Organic Dairy

Sodexo is proud to partner with the Northeast Organic Family Farm Partnership to help protect and sustain the future of organic family farming in our region. Through this commitment, we prioritize purchasing organic dairy products from brands that source their milk directly from Northeast organic farms.

By supporting this partnership, we’re not only investing in high-quality, sustainable food, but also in the farmers and communities that make it possible.

Learn more about our commitment and the partnership by visiting the Northeast Organic Family Farm Partnership website.

Miley Café is a 3-Star Certified Green Restaurant, Proudly Recognized for Our Commitment to Sustainability

We’re honored to be recognized by the Green Restaurant Association (GRA), a national nonprofit dedicated to helping restaurants become more environmentally responsible. Miley Café has earned 3-star certification by meeting rigorous sustainability standards across key categories, including:

• Water efficiency
• Waste reduction & recycling
• Sustainable food sourcing
• Chemical & pollution reduction
• Energy conservation

Each year, restaurants in the U.S. generate over 300 million tons of waste. At Miley Café, we're doing our part to reduce that impact. We’ve eliminated polystyrene foam products, implemented robust recycling and composting programs, and taken numerous steps to earn over 200 GreenPoints - a reflection of our dedication to greener dining.

Dine green at Miley Café, where sustainability is always on the menu. Click here to view our Green Steps report!

• APEX™ Dishwashing System
• Energy Star Appliances
• Xpress Napkin Holders
• Recycling
• Reusable Cup Program
• Trayless Dining