| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65.20 |
| Liaison | Denice Koljonen |
| Submission Date | Feb. 17, 2022 |
Boston College
OP-7: Food and Beverage Purchasing
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.87 / 6.00 |
Megan
O'Neill Assoc. Director Dining Services |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Percentage of total annual food and beverage expenditures on products that are sustainably or ethically produced:
3
Percentage of total annual food and beverage expenditures on plant-based foods:
23
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):
Our "sustainable" inventory is calculated as a percentage of our expenditures divided into 2 main value-added categories: Sustainable/Socially Responsible (i.e. Fair Trade, Certified Organic, Cooperatively-owned; minority-owned) and Plant Based
If reporting Real/Good Food Calculator results, provide:
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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 | No |
| Vending services | Yes | Yes |
| Concessions | Yes | Yes |
Total annual dining services budget for food and beverage products:
$10 million or more
Optional Fields
Boston College Dining Services is a member of the "Menus of Change University Research Collaborative" which prioritizes sustainable and plant-forward menus. Costa Fruit & Produce, one of our prime vendors, is a founding sponsor of the Collaborative. As part of our focus on plant-forward menus, as of the 2017/2018 school year 100% of our beef burgers in one of our busiest locations are now 40% plant-sources and 60% beef.
Dining Services' FRESH initiative promotes purchasing of Fairly Traded, Regional, Equitable, Sustainable and Healthy ingredients. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Dining services hosted weekly FRESH meal demos to give samples and receive feedback on new recipes featuring sustainably sourced ingredients. Through the FRESH initiative Dining Services now purchases about 85% of seafood served in the dining halls from a sustainable, New England-based seafood provider (North Coast Seafoods). The majority of eggs are from a family-owned cage-free chicken operation. All oats are sourced from Grandy Oats Granola, a sustainability-oriented and certified organic producer in Maine. Allergen-free sun butters are sourced from 88 Acres, a Roxbury-based company that hires from the local community. The majority of coffee served on campus is from Equal Exchange, a worker-owned, fair-trade cooperative. Over 20 local farms are represented in items served in the dining halls or sold at the campus farmers market.
BC Dining's 2019 Sustainability Report summarizes our sustainable food sourcing policy: https://issuu.com/bc51/docs/final_sustainability_report_for_online_12.10.19
Dining Services' FRESH initiative promotes purchasing of Fairly Traded, Regional, Equitable, Sustainable and Healthy ingredients. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Dining services hosted weekly FRESH meal demos to give samples and receive feedback on new recipes featuring sustainably sourced ingredients. Through the FRESH initiative Dining Services now purchases about 85% of seafood served in the dining halls from a sustainable, New England-based seafood provider (North Coast Seafoods). The majority of eggs are from a family-owned cage-free chicken operation. All oats are sourced from Grandy Oats Granola, a sustainability-oriented and certified organic producer in Maine. Allergen-free sun butters are sourced from 88 Acres, a Roxbury-based company that hires from the local community. The majority of coffee served on campus is from Equal Exchange, a worker-owned, fair-trade cooperative. Over 20 local farms are represented in items served in the dining halls or sold at the campus farmers market.
BC Dining's 2019 Sustainability Report summarizes our sustainable food sourcing policy: https://issuu.com/bc51/docs/final_sustainability_report_for_online_12.10.19
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:
Boston College's dining team prides itself on living our school's Jesuit values of social justice and educating the whole person. Our food service is unique in that it is 100% self-operated and therefore empowered to set its own agenda, which over the past few years has been focused on prioritizing ecologically sound and socially just food. Most notable in our efforts has been the fall 2017 launch and continued support of our self-branded "F.R.E.S.H. to Table" initiative which promotes food literacy among students and staff, while prioritizing the purchase of regional, sustainable, healthy and ethically produced food. FRESH stands for Fairly Traded, Regionally, Equitable, Sustainable and Healthy. Our dining program includes a team of 6 student interns devoted to our mission of ensuring that healthy, sustainable and socially just food served in a higher educational environment.
Note: We do not use Real Food Calculator so skipped the two Real Food questions.
Note: We do not use Real Food Calculator so skipped the two Real Food questions.
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.