Frequently Asked
Questions

1. On a minimum of 5 of 10 weekday campaign days affer at least one bean-forward entree OR offer beans as a customizable protein add-on.
2. Promote the specials with campaign materials.
3. Measure and share data for bean and meat dishes 2 weeks before the campaign, and 2 weeks during the campaign.

Every site launches on the same dates. October 19-30th. However, we request and collect data for the full month of October so that we can capture a full picture of your dining hall habits and changes.

Dry or canned black beans, pinto, kidney, garbanzo, and other beans all count — along with lentils, tofu, tempeh, edamame, peanuts, and bean-based products like black bean burger patties.

Final dates are being determined soon, but tentatively March/April of 2027 – if you’re interested in joining for another wave, please let us know!

Share information on all bean dishes served and all dishes where guests can choose between a meat or bean protein option. You’ll share the dish name, where and when it’s served, the bean type or meat featured, protein weight per serving, whether it contains meat, and cost/price per serving.

Yes! Repeating a dish across multiple days still counts toward serving bean entrées on at least half the campaign days.

Yes! Just add it to your menu schedule and include it in your Dish Register like any other entrée and we’ll measure it!

We’ll do a quick check to make sure your plan meets the bean entrée minimum and flag anything that looks incomplete. We won’t critique your menu choices — but will flag opportunities to capture more data(like additional GHG-measurable dishes)

Yes, as long as beans are the main protein in the dish. Just mark it as containing meat in your Dish Register so we can account for it.

Definitely. Just share info on the other burger options at that station too, so we can compare and see if bean burgers gained ground during the campaign.

Yes, please! We’ll be able to see whether bean toppings got more popular as a result of the campaign.

There are two ways we can measure greenhouse gas emissions/environmental impact, and any of them work:

• Dishes with a bean or meat protein option (like a taco bar) — offer both options during pre-campaign (Oct 5-16) and the campaign (Oct 19-30) so we can see if bean uptake shifts.
• Blended bean-and-meat dishes — only needed during the campaign; we’ll calculate the savings compared to an all-meat version.

We love a good name — it helps draw eaters in — but it’s not required. Keep it simple if that’s what works best for your team. (Check out our Menu Tips resource for naming inspiration.)

Absolutely. Run a rotating variety across the two weeks, or keep one dish consistent the whole time if you’d rather see a clean before-and-after comparison. If you do switch mid-campaign, just let us know so we can update your dish register accordingly.

We ask for two weeks of “before” data and two weeks of “during” data so we can see what actually changed, not just what happened during the campaign. Without a comparison, we can’t tell if a jump in bean dishes was caused by the campaign or was just a normal week.

If you have a dish that you serve multiple times throughout the week, please select which week they were served, then enter in the total number of servings (for AYCTE) or quantity sold (retail/a la carte) for that week.

• For AYCTE (all-you-care-to-eat), quantity sold, # of guests.
• For retail/a la carte, servings prepared, servings leftover, # of guests

• No, as long as you can provide post-production (AYCTE) or point-of-sale data (retail/a la carte), you do not need to provide procurement data. This option is available for sites where it is difficult to source post-production or point-of-sale data.
• You do not need to share vendor information. We’ll ask for the product (type of bean or meat), # of units purchased, and cost per unit.

Your site’s individual data will not be shared with other participants, and we’ll report your own site’s results back to you in January 2027 so you can share your impact internally.

Point of sale is a great start, but more visibility is better. We recommend using several touchpoints — station signage, cashier signs, digital displays, posters, table tents — wherever your eaters are making their decision. If you can only display in one spot, prioritize the stations or dishes that’ll get the most attention.