Agnes Scott College
OP-7: Dining Service Procurement

Agnes Scott’s Aramark Dining partners with The Common Market Southeast to purchase sustainably and ethically produced food. The Common Market Southeast is a mission-driven distributor of sustainable, local farm foods to the Atlanta area and beyond. They connect institutions and communities with good food from more than 30 producers located throughout the Southeast. Aramark Dining receives specific grower information on every order printed on every invoice. 

For our methodology to determine the spend on products that are sustainably or ethically produced, we submitted our total FY24 annual spend with The Common Market Southeast. The Common Market Southeast works with small producers (as defined by the USDA as a farm with an annual gross cash income of less than $350,000) using sustainable methods as evidenced and documented through an alternative verification program led by The Common Market, as the producer cooperative. Of the twelve farms that Agnes Scott supports through purchasing through The Common Market Southeast, 100% uses sustainable methods as evidenced and documented through this alternative verification program.

https://www.thecommonmarket.org/locations/the-common-market-georgia/our-farmers

As a small institution with one all-you-care-to-eat dining hall, one coffee shop and one made-to-order grill, the data reported represents Aramark Dining’s procurement contracts with FreshPoint (fresh produce), SyscoFood (coffee, tea, culinary ingredients derived from plants, fresh produce, plant-based/vegan alternatives to meat and milk, processed fruits, vegetables, and legumes, and whole grains), and The Common Market Southeast (fresh produce). 

Aramark Dining staff ran their fiscal year report on total annual spend for Agnes Scott College from October 2023 - September 2024. Agnes Scott Center for Sustainability staff outlined purchases aligning with STARS definition of plant-based: foods and beverages that are predominantly derived from plants and/or fungi and contain no ingredients derived from animals - unprocessed and minimally processed, culinary ingredients, and processed foods that are vegetarian/vegan protein alternatives. 

To calculate the spend on plant-based foods, a full 12 month review of all FreshPoint purchases were totaled of all produce purchases. Staff also completed a one month inventory of plant-based and produce purchased from SyscoFood. This one month inventory was used as an average multiplier for nine months of purchases. It was estimated that this one month purchase was a representative sample of one month typical order. Multiplying the one month representative sample by nine months recognizes that all dining facilities are closed mid-December to mid-January, June and July. The two totals were combined with the total purchase from The Common Market Southeast to provide a total 12 month spend on plant-based foods. The uploaded inventory of qualifying food is outlined to support our methodologies.

Agnes Scott’s Aramark Dining partners with The Common Market Southeast to purchase sustainably and ethically produced food and to support social impact suppliers. 92% of The Common Market Southeast producers (or 99.4% of the total spend) that Agnes Scott purchases from is at least 51% owned by people who identify as members of marginalized groups, as defined by AASHE STARS (ethnic, national, religious and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, residents of economically diverse areas, women). 

The Common Market Southeast is a mission-driven distributor of sustainable, local farm foods to the Atlanta area and beyond. They connect institutions and communities with good food from more than 30 producers located throughout the Southeast. Aramark Dining receives specific grower information on every order printed on every invoice. The Common Market is committed to supporting socially disadvantaged farmers, growers historically left out of the food system due to racial discrimination. Their supply chain is made up of small- and medium-sized farms, ranches, and producers that promote the leadership of people of color and women. 

https://www.thecommonmarket.org/who-we-work-with/socially-disadvantaged-farmers

For our methodology to determine the spend on products that support social impact suppliers, we submitted our FY24 annual spend with The Common Market Southeast. The Common Market Southeast tracks this data internally. Of the twelve farms that Agnes Scott supports through purchasing through The Common Market Southeast eleven identify as one of the marginalized groups defined by AASHE STARS. Those eleven farms makeup 99.4% of Agnes Scott’s total spend with The Common Market.

As a breakdown, 63.6% identify as ethnic, national, religious and linguistic minorities, 9% people with disabilities, 54.5% residents of economically diverse areas, 9% women; with overlap.

https://www.thecommonmarket.org/who-we-work-with/socially-disadvantaged-farmers