Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 67.06
Liaison Allie Schwartz
Submission Date April 14, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Columbia University
OP-6: Food and Beverage Purchasing

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.19 / 4.00 Victoria Dunn
Assistant Vice President
Dining, Columbia University Facilities and Operations
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Percentage of dining services food and beverage expenditures that are local and community-based and/or third party verified:
54.85
+ Date Revised: Aug. 26, 2015

A copy of an inventory, list or sample of sustainable food and beverage purchases:
An inventory, list or sample of sustainable food and beverage purchases:

see attached.


Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 of this credit (food and beverage expenditures for on-site franchises, convenience stores, vending services, or concessions)?:
Yes

Percentage of on-site franchise, convenience store, vending services, and concessions food and beverage purchases that are local and community-based and/or third party verified:
99.80

A copy of an inventory, list or sample of on-site franchise, convenience store, vending machine, and/or concessions food and beverage purchases that are sustainably produced:
---

An inventory, list or sample of on-site franchise, convenience store, vending machine, and/or concessions food and beverage purchases that are sustainably produced:

Columbia was not able to produce an inventory of on-site vending machine purchases that are sustainably produced however 99.795% of items are purchased locally on a unit basis, and 99.762% are purchased locally on a dollar basis.


A brief description of the sustainable food and beverage purchasing program:

Columbia Dining purchases from the local greenmarket and numerous vendors within 250 miles of Columbia's Morningside Campus. Apples and fresh apple cider are purchased from Red Jacket Orchards in Geneva, New York. All milk is distributed by GAF Seelig and come locally from Clover Farms. Chobani Yogurt is manufactured in Central New York. All Coke products ($28,000 worth) are produced in the Bronx. Purveyors provide locally grown fresh vegetables to both dining halls as well as retail units. Products include: cucumbers, green leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, Boston lettuce, red radishes, green, red and white cabbage, leeks, turnips, jalapeno and Serrano peppers, escarole, red bell peppers, red beets, carrots, portabella, shiitake, enoki, crimini, and button mushrooms, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, yellow squash, pumpkin, eggplant, collard greens, spinach, white and red potatoes, Swiss chard, green peppers, Italian peppers, green beans, corn, parsnips, sweet onions, zucchini, pico de gallo, salsa, and green peas. All tomatoes are provided by Thomas Colace Company, whose tomato vendors are all audited by Social Accountability. The tomatoes used to make the salsa are locally grown at Olds Maids Farm in South Glastonbury, CT and crafted by Onofrio’s of New Haven, CT.
Dining also contracts with a local farmer and canner to make salsa and strawberry jam. The strawberries are grown and harvested at Hindinger Farm in Hamden, CT, and processed, packaged and delivered by Onofrio’s of New Haven, CT. Coffee comes from Brooklyn Roasting Company and is fair trade, organic, shade grown, and bird friendly. All bakery and grab-and-go sandwiches are purchased from local vendors. From the green market, honey is bought from Ballard’s Honey that is based in Roxbury, New York. At John Jay Dining Halls’ annual “Local Dinner,” items such as Long Island Yukon Gold Potatoes, Mint, Bell Peppers, and Mushrooms, New York State Maple Syrup, and cheese from green market vendor Millport Dairy, based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, are served. Columbia Dining follows The Northeast guidelines of Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch for buying fish. The program provides science-based recommendations so that buyers can make ocean-friendly seafood choices. Dining buys “Best Choices” fish, meaning that they are abundant, well managed, and caught or farmed in environmentally friendly ways.

Additional URLs for local and organic food suppliers:
www.hindingersfarm.com
www.oldmaidsfarm.com
www.redjacketorchards.com
www.gafseelig.com
www.tomatobycolace.com
www.brooklynroasting.com
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_recommendations.aspx?c=ln


A brief description of the methodology used to track/inventory sustainable food and beverage purchases:

Each vendors provides an annual report of purchases from the prior year; Dining's Executive Director analyzes data to delineate vendors and purchases that are sustainable & local. Columbia Dining's specifically seeks out and requests local products from vendors.


Total annual food and beverage expenditures:
5,692,633 US/Canadian $

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 Yes Yes
Dining operations and catering services operated by a contractor --- ---
Franchises --- ---
Convenience stores --- ---
Vending services --- ---
Concessions --- ---

Has the institution achieved the following?:
Yes or No
Fair Trade Campus, College or University status ---
Certification under the Green Seal Standard for Restaurants and Food Services (GS-46) ---
Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification No
Signatory of the Real Food Campus Commitment (U.S.) ---

A brief description of other sustainable restaurant and food service standards that the institution’s dining services operations are certified under:
---

The website URL where information about the institution's sustainable food and beverage purchasing efforts is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
---

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.