Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 52.63
Liaison Amy Kadrie
Submission Date Jan. 6, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Rochester
OP-6: Food and Beverage Purchasing

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.28 / 4.00 Cameron Schauf
Director
Dining Services
"---" 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:
32
+ Date Revised: Feb. 16, 2016

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

Examples of items purchased include: the majority of baked items come from local independently owned bakeries, dairy from a local cooperative, local distributor (Headwater Foods) deals directly with local, independently owned farms and businesses for meats, produce, additional baked items.

+ Date Revised: Feb. 16, 2016

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)?:
No

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:
---

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:
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An inventory, list or sample of on-site franchise, convenience store, vending machine, and/or concessions food and beverage purchases that are sustainably produced:
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A brief description of the sustainable food and beverage purchasing program:

Vendors both approach and are approached by the University based on their sustainable practices and business ethics. UR carefully researches vendors to ensure their claims of sustainability are sound. Additionally, many vendors are organic certified by New York State. Our driving goal in purchasing is to find quality solutions first, from within New York State, and second, within a 250 mile radius of our campus. We feel that these tenets represent our responsibility to supporting our local economy and also afford us the freshest and highest quality products. Beyond that, we also work with local vendors to let their brands live on our campus. From local coffee roasters to sushi vendors to cheesecake and cookies, these local brands live on campus as they do in their own locations, educating our students about the surrounding area and encouraging them to develop a relationship with a local brand. For items like fish and seafood, rather than using our broadline provider exclusively, we have developed a relationship with a local partner that sources sustainably caught seafood and delivers it from catch to cook in 72 hours.


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

Dining Services partners with its vendors to track each purchase, where the product was produced/ grown and manufactured. The vendors supply Dining Services with a pruchase report each semester breaking down the University's purchases by location, detailing where the product is from and how it is distributed. Dining Services uses this information to break down by category what is locally gown or manufactured. The University of Rochester just partnered with FarmLogix to help expedite and clean up the process. Their mission is similar to the University's and they have the ability to make the process easier for the University and supply greater detail.


Total annual food and beverage expenditures:
8,300,000 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 No No
Dining operations and catering services operated by a contractor Yes Yes
Franchises Yes Yes
Convenience stores Yes Yes
Vending services Yes No
Concessions Yes No

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

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

We are committed to working with like-minded vendors and brands, so the majority of coffee served on campus is Fair-Trade and sustainably produced and sourced. From our Starbucks location to our partnership with local vendors like McCullagh Coffee, Joe Bean Roasters, The Coffee Connection and Java that have built their businesses on sustainable sourcing and operation.

We are currently in the process of attaining our Marine Stewardship Council certification and are aligning with our broadline provider to be successful in this venture.

We have begun discussions with a student group that is interested in working with us on the Real Food Campus Commitment and in evaluating the guidelines of that program, we feel that we will score favorably.

We are also investigating both Fair Trade Campus and Green Restaurant Certifications for our locations.


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:
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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.