| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 67.18 |
| Liaison | Weston Dripps |
| Submission Date | Aug. 19, 2024 |
Amherst College
OP-7: Dining Service Procurement
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.42 / 8.00 |
Weston
Dripps Director of Sustainability Sustainability |
Performance year for food and beverage purchasing:
Percentage of food and beverage spend on products that are sustainably or ethically produced:
Percentage of food and beverage spend on plant-based foods:
Inventory of qualifying food and beverage purchases:
Description of the methodology used to determine the spend on products that are sustainably or ethically produced:
Two student interns analyzed the college’s food procurement history for the 2021-22 school year. The college spent a total of $3,536,258 on food items during this reporting period.
To determine spend on sustainably or ethically produced products, the students used data provided by distributors to identify and tag products with the following certifications: Organic, Rainforest Alliance Certified, Fair Trade USA Certified, MSC Certified Fisheries, Monterey Bay Seafood Watch - Best Choice. All certified products are tagged in the EFH (Ecological, Fair and Humane) Certifications column of the spreadsheet inventory.
Description of the methodology used to determine the spend on plant-based foods:
Two student interns analyzed the college’s food procurement history for the 2021-22 school year. The college spent a total of $3,536,258 on food items during this reporting period.
To determine spend on plant-based products, the students used data provided by distributors to identify products with the following certifications: Minimal (or No) Processing, Simple Processed Foods, Processed Culinary Ingredients, Veg Alternatives to Meat/Dairy. Highly processed foods and beverages were excluded from the plant-based spend total. We also used several key terms (i.e. vegan, plant-based, imitation) to refine the list of items tagged asVeg Alternatives to Meat/Dairy.
All qualifying products are tagged in the Plant-Based column of the spreadsheet inventory.
Points earned for indicator OP 7.1:
Does the institution have sufficient data on its dining service spend to pursue this indicator?:
Performance year for social impact dining service purchasing:
Percentage of dining service spend with social impact suppliers:
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the dining service program’s social impact suppliers:
The college actively tries to source from local social impact suppliers when possible. We buy from a number of local farms and suppliers. A full list can be found here - https://www.amherst.edu/campuslife/housing-dining/dining/food-and-nutrition/buylocal
Description of the methodology used to determine the spend with social impact suppliers:
Two student interns calculated spend with social impact suppliers by analyzing the college’s food procurement history for the 2021-22 school year. Their analysis examined expenditures on food items only.
The students used data provided by distributors to identify products with the following certifications: Women Business Enterprise (WBE) Certification, Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Certification, and B-Corporation Certification. Products with multiple qualifying certifications were only counted toward the total once. All qualifying products are tagged in Business Certifications column of the spreadsheet inventory.
Points earned for indicator OP 7.2:
Notes about the information provided for this credit:
Additional documentation for this credit:
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.