Sustainable Swaps at Athlete Fueling Station

Adopting sustainable practices in a fast-paced, food-serving environment can oftentimes be tricky. Sports nutrition lead and registered dietitian Angela Trinh has found ways to operate the Fueling Station, a grab-and-go food hub for Stanford athletes, sustainably without sacrificing efficiency or quality. The Fueling Station became a Santa Clara County Certified Green Business in November 2023 and continues to expand its sustainable practices. This includes partnering with student organizations like Student Athletes for Sustainability to reduce food and packaging waste during travel seasons.

Angela launched a pilot program for athletic teams to use reusable bags for transporting meals and snacks during travel. Angela was able to repurpose bags sourced from other Departments. She shares, “I am happy to report that I was able to receive 31 bags from Stanford Medicine and 75 bags from Stanford High School Summer College to help initiate the pilot. The program required much coordination within departments, as well as careful logistical planning for distribution, cleaning, ownership, and cost of the bags."

Some of Angela’s other sustainable successes include:

• Initiating the switch from single-use plastic Gatorade bottles to a Gatorade dispenser and reusable 32oz bottles. Plus, washing and sanitizing the bottles for athletes on the go!
• “Just-in-time” purchasing to avoid having excess food that will pass the expiration date
• Coordinating with food recovery efforts on campus when the Fueling Station has excess - 36 cases of applesauce went to FLI (First Generate and/or Low Income) students!