Bowdoin College
OP-6: Food and Beverage Purchasing

Bowdoin Dining Service operates two dining halls, three cash operations and provides campus catering service. Our purchasing staff includes a Sourcing and Menu Manager and three purchasers. Our main-line food distributor is PFG-Northcenter, but this is not an exclusive relationship and we utilize many local vendors including Oakhurst Dairy for our milk, juice and cheese products. We have a large campus organic garden, which is operated by our department and managed by a full time seasonal garden manager. Our purchasing policies seek to promote a sustainable economy in Maine and New England. Bowdoin Dining makes all reasonable efforts to utilize affordably priced local and renewable products that reflect the College's commitment to sustainability. We are committed to a strong relationship with Farm Fresh Connections (FFC), a company born of a program of the Maine Sustainable Agriculture Society that coordinates the sale of food from farms to institutions (colleges and hospitals) in south-central Maine. We are committed to the oversight and coordination of an agriculturally and financially sustainable Bowdoin Organic Garden project. We will continue to provide funding, equipment and labor to help ensure its continued viability and success. We are committed to strengthening ties to our local communities by utilizing local businesses and services whenever possible. We are committed that a selection criterion for all contracted vendors is a consideration of their environmental practices and record. We are committed to considering environmental factors when purchasing new or replacement equipment.

Local food purchases of total food purchases: Grown: 16.4% Purchased within 250 miles: 34% 3rd party certified organic of total food purchases: Separate Numbers (non-local organic): .65% Overlap (local + organic): 2.1% Total: 2.75%