| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65.95 |
| Liaison | Kathleen McCaig |
| Submission Date | June 14, 2017 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Berea College
OP-7: Food and Beverage Purchasing
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.06 / 6.00 |
Charlie
Brubeck General Manager Dining Services |
Percentage of dining services food and beverage expenditures on products that are third party verified under one or more recognized food and beverage sustainability standards or Local & Community-Based:
Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 of this credit (expenditures on conventional animal products)? (If data is not available, respond “No”):
Percentage of total dining services food and beverage expenditures on conventional animal products (meat, poultry, fish/seafood, eggs, and dairy products that do NOT qualify in either the Third Party Verified or Local & Community-Based category):
A brief description of the sustainable food and beverage purchasing program, including how the sustainability impacts of products in specific categories are addressed (e.g. meat, poultry, fish/seafood, eggs, dairy, produce, tea/coffee):
Berea Dining defines 'local' as food that has been grown, raised or processed within 150 miles of campus, with preference to our own College Farm, followed by within 50 miles, then Kentucky Proud (Kentucky grown or processed). The majority of Dining purchases that are local by that definition are sourced within 50 miles of campus. Produce sourced from the College Garden is certified organic; meat from the college livestock Farm are pasture-raised and Animal Welfare Approved.
An inventory of the institution’s sustainable food and beverage purchases that includes for each product: the description/type; label, brand or producer; and the category in which it is being counted and/or a description of its sustainability attribute(s):
A brief description of the methodology used to conduct the inventory, including the timeframe and how representative samples accounted for seasonal variation (if applicable):
All vendor invoices are reviewed each month, and a spreadsheet is used to keep a running total of everything local purchased (defined as what is grown/raised within the 100 mile radius). A final review is completed for the whole year so when the fiscal year ends in August, the amount of money spent on all food and what percentage of that is local can be tallied. (See Additional documentation upload)
There is a separate total for what is considered ‘sustainable’ but not local, like the coffee purchased from a Louisville-area roaster that’s fairly traded; cage-free eggs that aren’t locally sourced, fair trade chocolate sold at the Café, etc.
Percentage of total dining services expenditures on Real Food A (0-100):
Percentage of total dining services expenditures on Real Food B (0-100):
Which of the following food service providers are present on campus and included in the total food and beverage expenditure figures?:
| Present? | Included? | |
| Dining operations and catering services operated by the institution | No | No |
| Dining operations and catering services operated by a contractor | Yes | Yes |
| Student-run food/catering services | No | No |
| Franchises (e.g. national or global brands) | No | No |
| Convenience stores | No | No |
| Vending services | Yes | No |
| Concessions | Yes | No |
A brief description of purchased food and beverage products that have other sustainability attributes not recognized above :
Berea College includes a working farm with cattle, chickens, and swine that are purchased by our dining services provider Sodexo . Berea College Farm was named one of the Top 20 College Farms in the nation. https://www.berea.edu/features/bereas-farm-in-top-twenty-best-college-farms-in-u-s-2/
More farm info here: https://www.berea.edu/anr/berea-college-farm/
The College also operates an on campus certified organic garden which also supplies our dining services with local, organic produce. We have a compost program on campus which is used in our organic gardens. https://www.berea.edu/sustainability/other-academic-opportunities-in-sustainability-2/student-labor-and-sustainability/gardens-and-greenhouse/
Additional percentage of dining services food and beverage expenditures on conventional products with other sustainability attributes not recognized above (0-100) :
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
BC Dining defines “local” as food that has been grown, raised, or processed within 150 miles of the campus (a more rigorous measure than that required by the STARS criteria). Thus, our reporting here understates our purchases that could be considered local in this framework. Local purchasing is tracked 12 months of the year rather than as "sample" months of peak purchasing.
A significant percentage of our local food purchases (certified organic produce and grass-fed/pastured beef and pork) are from the Berea College Farm and Gardens. Fairly traded, locally roasted coffee is served at all locations and catered events.
BC Dining defines “local” as food that has been grown, raised, or processed within 150 miles of the campus (a more rigorous measure than that required by the STARS criteria). Thus, our reporting here understates our purchases that could be considered local in this framework. Local purchasing is tracked 12 months of the year rather than as "sample" months of peak purchasing.
A significant percentage of our local food purchases (certified organic produce and grass-fed/pastured beef and pork) are from the Berea College Farm and Gardens. Fairly traded, locally roasted coffee is served at all locations and catered events.
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.