| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 70.13 |
| Liaison | John Alejandro |
| Submission Date | March 24, 2021 |
University of San Diego
OP-7: Food and Beverage Purchasing
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.72 / 6.00 |
Alison
Sanchirico Sustainability Coordinator Office of Sustainability |
Percentage of total annual food and beverage expenditures on products that are sustainably or ethically produced:
Percentage of total annual food and beverage expenditures on plant-based foods:
An inventory of food and beverage purchases that qualify as sustainably/ethically produced:
A brief description of the methodology used to conduct the inventory, including the timeframe and how representative samples accounted for seasonal variation (if applicable):
Sysco provides USD Dining with a "Sustainability Scorecard" that includes the data on sustainable purchasing. The produce vendors provide metrics for the percentage of local produce. The USD coffee vendor supplies only fair trade/organic coffee and purchasing reports for these items were used to inventory coffee purchases. Retail numbers are taken from USD internal purchasing software. Time frame is from January 2019 - January 2020.
Website URL where the institution’s validated Real/Good Food Calculator results are publicly posted:
Which of the following food service providers are present on campus and included in the inventory/assessment?:
| Present? | Included? | |
| Dining operations and catering services operated by the institution | Yes | Yes |
| Dining operations and catering services operated by a contractor | No | No |
| Student-run food/catering services | No | No |
| Franchises (e.g., regional or global brands) | No | No |
| Convenience stores | Yes | Yes |
| Vending services | Yes | No |
| Concessions | Yes | Yes |
Total annual dining services budget for food and beverage products:
A brief description of the institution’s sustainable food and beverage purchasing program:
Sustainable purchasing practices are followed for many products - food, packaging, merchandise and more. USD Dining selects vendors that have strong sustainability standards and practices. Dining requires consolidated food and merchandise deliveries from our vendors, thus cutting down on the use of natural resources and our carbon footprint while saving on costs. Dining utilizes a menu management software (CBord) that allows us to purchase products as needed. This also allows Dining to buy “just in time,” which reduces waste and our carbon footprint. Dining works closely with our prime food vendor, Sysco, to continue to provide an increasing number of sustainably sourced foods.
Organic and natural food and merchandise are available in all locations via a partnership with United Natural Foods, Inc. UNFI Sustainability Reports.
Fresh Point is the produce provider. The produce procurement priorities USD Dining has established are: #1 to be within the state of California; #2 within a 250 mile radius of USD; and #3 within the southwest US region. Menus also utilize ingredients from the on-campus community garden.
80% of baked goods are made within 15 miles of USD.
All hamburger is 100% certified organic Australian Beef.
Straws are available only on-request and are made of paper instead of plastic. Paper plates are made from 100% reclaimed fiber, unbleached and compostable. The vast majority of disposable packaging is greenware (made of recycled content and/or biodegradable). Clear cups for cold beverages are made of polylactic acid from corn. Cups for hot beverages are made from renewable fiber with polylactic acid lining. Coffee sleeves and napkins are made of 100% recycled fibers. Wood stir sticks are compostable. Disposable flatware (EarthChoice PSM Cutlery) is a blend of materials, the majority of which is starch. 50% of the base material comes from corn. It does not come from corn originally intended for human consumption and is not genetically modified.
Website URL where information about the food and beverage purchasing program is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Data provided by Loryn Johnson and Charles Ramos of USD Dining Services.
Data provided by Loryn Johnson and Charles Ramos of USD Dining Services.
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.