Overall Rating Platinum - expired
Overall Score 85.29
Liaison Tonie Miyamoto
Submission Date March 23, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Colorado State University
OP-6: Food and Beverage Purchasing

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.19 / 4.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Percentage of dining services food and beverage expenditures that are local and community-based and/or third party verified:
21.50

A copy of an inventory, list or sample of sustainable food and beverage purchases:
An inventory, list or sample of sustainable food and beverage purchases:

Housing & Dining Services purchases all of our sliced breads and dairy products from Earthgrains/Sara Lee located in Fort Collins. All dairy products are provided to us by Robinson Dairy in Denver. Our milk is supplied by dairy farms that are located within 150 miles of CSU. Our bagels are supplied by Gib’s Bagels in Fort Collins, our coffee from Vail Mountain Coffee in Minturn, CO; our biodegradable/compostable carryout products are from Eco-Products in Boulder, CO and our soups from Spoons in Fort Collins. Our in-house bakeshop makes a large quantity of items from scratch including our gluten-free breads, hummus, cupcakes, etc.

Housing & Dining Services has purchased nearly $1 million in locally grown and processed foods.


Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 of this credit (food and beverage expenditures for on-site franchises, convenience stores, vending services, or concessions)?:
Yes

Percentage of on-site franchise, convenience store, vending services, and concessions food and beverage purchases that are local and community-based and/or third party verified:
25

A copy of an inventory, list or sample of on-site franchise, convenience store, vending machine, and/or concessions food and beverage purchases that are sustainably produced:
---

An inventory, list or sample of on-site franchise, convenience store, vending machine, and/or concessions food and beverage purchases that are sustainably produced:

• Yogurt, milk, and cream: Morning Fresh Dairy (www.morningfreshdairy.com)
• Produce (potatoes, tomatoes, squash, spinach): Harvest Farms (www.harvestfarm.net)
• Coffee: Café Richesse (www.caferichesse.com)
• Bagels: Gib’s Bagels (www.gibsbagels.com/home)
• Bread: Aspen Baking Company (http://aspenbaking.com)
• Lamb: CSU Meat Lab (www.csumeats.com)
• Bacon: Denver Bacon Company (http://denverbacon.com/)
• Soup: Spoons Soup and Salad (http://espoons.com/)
• Cheese: MouCo Cheese Company (http://mouco.com/) and Rocking with Cheese (www.rockingwcheese.com)
• Beer: Fort Collins Brewery (www.fortcollinsbrewery.com), Odell’s (http://odellbrewing.com), and New Belgium (www.newbelgium.com/Home.aspx)
• Eggs: Owl Canyon Eggs (www.grantfarms.com/eggs/owl-canyon-eggs)
• Continental Sausage Company (www.continentalsausage.com)
• LoCo Food Distributing (www.locofooddistribution.com)


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

Housing & Dining Services works with our food distributor to purchase local and organic foods when possible, always working to balance cost for students with quality products. Our produce specifications require vendors to bid and supply local and organic produce when available and reasonably priced.

The Lory Student Center purchases local and organic food items whenever possible for Aspen Grille (90 percent local and organic in the summer and fall) and the catering operation. The student center also operates several in-house venues that serve local breads, bagels, soups, produce, beer, etc.


A brief description of the methodology used to track/inventory sustainable food and beverage purchases:

These calculations were made by manually combing through the last year's purchases and calculating totals based on STARS guidelines.


Total annual food and beverage expenditures:
6,000,340 US/Canadian $

Which of the following food service providers are present on campus and included in the total food and beverage expenditure figures?:
Present? Included?
Dining operations and catering services operated by the institution Yes Yes
Dining operations and catering services operated by a contractor Yes Yes
Franchises Yes No
Convenience stores Yes Yes
Vending services Yes No
Concessions Yes No

Has the institution achieved the following?:
Yes or No
Fair Trade Campus, College or University status Yes
Certification under the Green Seal Standard for Restaurants and Food Services (GS-46) No
Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification No
Signatory of the Real Food Campus Commitment (U.S.) No

A brief description of other sustainable restaurant and food service standards that the institution’s dining services operations are certified under:

The Associated Students of CSU passed a Fair Trade University resolution in 2014.


The website URL where information about the institution's sustainable food and beverage purchasing efforts is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Dining operations at CSU are split between Housing & Dining Services and the Lory Student Center.

1. In Part 1 dining services percentage of local and community based and/or third party verified includes all operations for Housing & Dining Services. This includes the dining centers as well as two grab-and-go components in the dining centers. We recognize that some of the items included in Part 1 (i.e. retail-type items) may appear better-suited for Part 2 but any items included in Part 1 are part of our dining centers and since purchasing and record-keeping are centralized for Housing & Dining Services and separate from other entities on campus, this is the most accurate, practical, and transparent way to report this data.

2. In Part 2 the percentage of on-site franchise, convenience store, vending services, and concessions food and beverage purchases that are local and community-based and/or third party verified include all food purchasing through the Lory Student Center. The Lory Student Center operates franchises, convenience stores, and concession/catering operations. Because the Lory Student Center handles purchasing and record-keeping for the above-listed entities and is separate from other entities on campus, it was most accurate and transparent for us to report all of their purchases in Part 2.


Dining operations at CSU are split between Housing & Dining Services and the Lory Student Center.

1. In Part 1 dining services percentage of local and community based and/or third party verified includes all operations for Housing & Dining Services. This includes the dining centers as well as two grab-and-go components in the dining centers. We recognize that some of the items included in Part 1 (i.e. retail-type items) may appear better-suited for Part 2 but any items included in Part 1 are part of our dining centers and since purchasing and record-keeping are centralized for Housing & Dining Services and separate from other entities on campus, this is the most accurate, practical, and transparent way to report this data.

2. In Part 2 the percentage of on-site franchise, convenience store, vending services, and concessions food and beverage purchases that are local and community-based and/or third party verified include all food purchasing through the Lory Student Center. The Lory Student Center operates franchises, convenience stores, and concession/catering operations. Because the Lory Student Center handles purchasing and record-keeping for the above-listed entities and is separate from other entities on campus, it was most accurate and transparent for us to report all of their purchases in Part 2.

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.