Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 49.75
Liaison Keaton Schrank
Submission Date April 26, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Westminster University - Utah
OP-6: Food and Beverage Purchasing

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.59 / 4.00 Mariah McCoy
Sustainability Fellow
Westminster Environmental Center
"---" 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:
11

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:

Bon Appetit Local Real Food Venders:
Coffee and local fair trade tea - Rimini Coffee SLC UT
Bread and baked goods - Pierre Bakery SLC UT
Grass fed beef with no hormones - Canyon Meadows Ranch UT
Local and seasonal produce- Tagge Farms and New Roots Farm SLC UT
Doughnuts - Banbury Cross Donuts SLC UT


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:
11

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:

Bon Appetit Local Real Food Venders:
Coffee and local fair trade tea - Rimini Coffee SLC UT
Bread and baked goods - Pierre Bakery SLC UT
Grass fed beef with no hormones - Canyon Meadows Ranch UT
Local and seasonal produce- Tagge Farms and New Roots Farm SLC UT
Doughnuts - Banbury Cross Donuts SLC UT


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

Bon Appetit works with a program called Farm to Fork, which focuses on getting local food, owner-operated. Below are some more details:

Farm to Fork:
At its core, Farm to Fork has always been about preserving flavors and supporting small, owner- operated producers in the communities we serve. As the American food system has consolidated, we have lost flavors on the plate; Farm to Fork gives our chefs the freedom to buy from producers who are harvesting food that tastes special.

Plant-based products, including fruit, vegetables, grains, floral products:
1. Geographic: farms, orchards, and mills that are within 150 miles of our kitchens. To be considered Farm to Fork, milled grains must come from within 150 miles as well as be milled locally.
2. Ownership: owner-operated concerns or co-ops of owner-operators. Non-profit distributors (aggregators) can be enrolled if all of their products qualify as Farm to Fork and they have a reliable traceability system in place. Similarly, farmers who are “for-profit” can act as aggregators for neighboring farmers, can be enrolled if all the products they sell to our chefs qualify as Farm to Fork and they have a robust traceability system in place.
3. Annual sales volume: $5 million if a sole proprietorship, farm, orchard, or an LLC. If a co-op, all members must gross $5 million or less and be a true co-op rather than contractors to a large corporation. (There is no sales limit for a product distributor who merely delivers products from enrolled vendors and can clearly identify sources on their price sheets and invoices.)

Proteins, including meat, poultry and eggs, dairy and cheese, seafood (small scale)
1. Geographic: farms, ranches, aquaculture operations, or fish landings that are within 150 miles of our kitchens.
2. Ownership: owner-operated farms, ranches or boats or co-op of owner-operators. Boat sizes vary from species to species. Boats cannot process fish on board other than to bleed and ice their fish at sea.
3. Annual sales volume: no more than $5 million except for co-ops where all members must gross $5 million or less and be a true co-op rather than contractors to a large corporation. (There is no sales limit for a product distributor who merely delivers products from enrolled vendors and can clearly identify sources on their price sheets and invoices.)
4. Certifications: currently, shell eggs are the only protein that is required to have one of the following third-party certifications: Certified Humane, Animal Welfare-approved, or Food Alliance certification. “Local” or “organic” does not qualify a local egg farmer. All seafood must be consistent with a green- or yellow- Seafood Watch rating.

Proteins, including meat, poultry and eggs, dairy and cheese, seafood (medium scale)
Having administered a Farm to Fork program now since 1999, we have come to see that consolidation in the food system has left us with fewer and fewer small-scale owner-operators who produce meat, dairy and seafood proteins in many regions. There are some regional producers, however, whose quality and production practices are exemplary. Their sales volumes and proximity generally exceed the limits of our Farm to Fork Program, so we are expanding the definitions of Farm to Fork to include regional protein producers (only) with these parameters:
1. Geographic: farms, ranches, aquaculture operations, or fish landings that are within 500 miles of our kitchens and who can safely deliver fresh products.
2. Ownership: owner-operated farms, ranches, boats, or co-op of owner-operators.
3. Annual sales volume: no more than 1% of industry leaders’ sales volume for those species. Currently, this translates to an average sales cap of about $40 million annually. See chart.
4. Third-party certifications: required. To demonstrate that the regional producer’s efforts are “appreciably better” than industrial-scale production, liquid and shell eggs, all meats and dairy products that come from regional producers whose gross sales exceed $5 million or are beyond the 150 mile limit must achieve one of the following third-party certifications: Humane Farm Animal Care, Animal Welfare-approved, Global Animal Partnership-level 1 or better, or Food Alliance certification. All seafood must be consistent with a green- or yellow- Seafood Watch rating. A producer who commits to a third-party certification process can be enrolled if they have had an initial consultation with one of the agencies and they commit to completing the process within 18 months. If they do not get certified, they will no longer be considered Farm to Fork suppliers.

Artisan products, including snack foods, granolas, frozen desserts, sushi, coffee, and baked goods
1. Geographic: production facilities that are within 150 miles of our kitchens and at least 50% of the product, by weight, must be sourced from within 150 miles. We have two exceptions to this requirement: coffee must be roasted locally and be of a truly “artisan” nature, and baked goods, including breads, pastries, which must be made and delivered fresh locally.
2. Ownership: owner-operated concerns or co-ops of owner-operators.
3. Annual sales volume: $5 million if a sole proprietorship, farm, orchard, or an LLC.
4. To qualify for F2F sushi, a majority of the fish has to be sourced locally and it must be of
an artisan nature. Local sushi makers do not qualify if they are not artisan.

Requirements for All Producers
1. Traceability: A reliable system must be in place from the farm to our kitchens.
2. Certifications: We currently require no sustainability certifications for small vendors
(see definitions of small and medium-scale, above) but we do encourage producers to share evidence of certifications, integrated pest management or organic practices, and other third-party validated evidence of best agricultural practices.
3. Legal documentation: We require a variety of documents including a certificate of insurance and a W9.


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

Bon Appetit, when purchasing items (whether on a corporate P card or through an invoice processing interface from their parent company Compass Group) codes their Farm to Fork items with their own general ledger code. When Bon Appetit uploads their financials to corporate, the general ledger numbers are compiled and a report is generated that can be viewed at any time.


Total annual food and beverage expenditures:
1,190,432 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 No No
Convenience stores No No
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 Yes
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:
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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.