Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 53.85
Liaison Stephen Ellis
Submission Date Oct. 7, 2021

STARS v2.2

Boston University
OP-7: Food and Beverage Purchasing

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.74 / 6.00 Lexie Raczka
Sustainability Director of Dining
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:
6.51

Percentage of total annual food and beverage expenditures on plant-based foods:
45

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):

Spending reports were obtained from vendors that service BU Dining Services. Reports include all purchases for the time period July 1 2018 through June 30 2019. The BU Dining Services Sustainability Director then analyzed the reports using the AASHE criteria to determine whether items could be counted as third-party certified and/or plant-based.


Website URL where the institution’s validated Real/Good Food Calculator results are publicly posted:
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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 No No
Dining operations and catering services operated by a contractor Yes Yes
Student-run food/catering services No No
Franchises (e.g., regional or global brands) Yes No
Convenience stores Yes No
Vending services Yes No
Concessions Yes No

Total annual dining services budget for food and beverage products:
$10 million or more

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

BU Dining Services prioritizes the purchase of food grown, caught, and raised locally, thereby supporting a healthy, equitable, self-sustaining food system in New England. Additionally, we prioritize purchasing foods grown with agricultural practices that are ecologically sound, socially responsible, and economically viable. Our production team meets weekly to discuss what's local and how to incorporate foods into our menus at our three dining halls. Current goals include working to ensure that as much local, seasonal produce is purchased, given economic feasibility. That includes taking advantage of all local, seasonal produce as well as frozen processed fruits and vegetables to lengthen the season, ensuring access to local products for our operations year round. A vast majority of all dairy, including milk, yogurt, butter, and cheeses are bought locally year-round. All eggs are cage-free, where ever feasible, and all the coffee served in residential dining rooms is organic and fair trade. We also purchase grass-fed, Maine-raised ground beef and hot dogs, as well as local whole chickens and turkey. We look for MSC Certified seafood and work with a local seafood companies to purchase fish from sustainable populations.


Website URL where information about the food and beverage purchasing program is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

This represent FY2019 BU Metrics.

BU currently has five Certified Green Restaurants on campus. Four of which are three star restaurants and one of which is a four star restaurant. The George Sherman Union is the Greenest Food Court in the nation, according to the Green Restaurant Association.

Alcohol from food service and catering is not included due to gaps in data.


This represent FY2019 BU Metrics.

BU currently has five Certified Green Restaurants on campus. Four of which are three star restaurants and one of which is a four star restaurant. The George Sherman Union is the Greenest Food Court in the nation, according to the Green Restaurant Association.

Alcohol from food service and catering is not included due to gaps in data.

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.