| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 47.51 |
| Liaison | Mike Evans |
| Submission Date | Feb. 2, 2016 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Williams College
OP-6: Food and Beverage Purchasing
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.65 / 4.00 |
Brent
Wasser Sustainable Food and Agriculture Program Manager Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives |
Percentage of dining services food and beverage expenditures that are local and community-based and/or third party verified:
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:
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)?:
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:
An inventory, list or sample of on-site franchise, convenience store, vending machine, and/or concessions food and beverage purchases that are sustainably produced:
A brief description of the sustainable food and beverage purchasing program:
For the last several years, Williams College has annually allocated new money toward increasing the amount of sustainable food that is purchased and served on campus. These budget requests have targeted specific product categories, such as fluid milk, locally raised grass-fed grain-finished beef, and fair-trade bananas. The college is now considering ways to increase sustainable foodways by influencing consumer behaviors, especially through the promotion of vegetarian and vegan menu options. The future of the sustainable food and beverage purchasing program promises to be a hybrid of sustainable purchasing, which often increases budget expenditure, and ecologically-conscious eating habits, which does not necessarily constitute a budget increase and could very well lower costs.
A brief description of the methodology used to track/inventory sustainable food and beverage purchases:
C-BORD, the menu management software used by Williams Dining, tracks all food items (ingredients) individually. In 2014, C-BORD introduced a sustainability tracking component, which Williams Dining has now fully implemented in cooperation with the Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives. Food items are tagged according to over 30 sustainability attributes, as outlined by the Real Food Guide of the Real Food Challenge (http://www.realfoodchallenge.org/sites/g/files/g809971/f/201403/Real%20Food%20Guide%20Version%201.0%20March%202014_0.pdf). As new items are added to the database, the manager of the sustainable food program evaluates them individually according to these sustainability criteria and tags them as such. This system allows for real-time reports on sustainability purchasing overall, as well as in reference to specific product attributes.
Total annual food and beverage expenditures:
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 | Yes | No |
| 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 | 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:
As a rule, the college does not sign on to national commitments. So although Williams College holds itself to many of the Real Food Campus Commitment principles and our goal is to continue to increase our real food purchases, we are not a signatory.
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.