Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 72.00
Liaison Jessica Krejcik
Submission Date Dec. 22, 2021

STARS v2.2

Concordia University
OP-7: Food and Beverage Purchasing

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.32 / 6.00 Claudette Torbey
Administrator
Food Services Sustainability and Quality Hospitality
"---" 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

Percentage of total annual food and beverage expenditures on plant-based foods:
32

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):

The Food and Beverage Purchasing Inventory covers one year of purchasing (January through December 2019) and is based on velocity reports provided by the university's primary food service provider, Aramark. As required by our food service contract, Aramark submits to Concordia Food Services three purchasing reports a year (October 26th, January 31st and June 15th). These reports monitor progress on sustainability targets relating to the purchase of local, Fairtrade and organic food as well as certified sustainable seafood. Aramark obtains product information (i.e. province of origin and processing, any sustainability certifications) from its distributors and when the info is unknown or incomplete, from the producers themselves. The purchasing inventory relies on product information generated from Aramark's seasonal reports.


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 Yes No
Franchises (e.g., regional or global brands) Yes No
Convenience stores No No
Vending services Yes No
Concessions Yes No

Total annual dining services budget for food and beverage products:
$1 million - $4.9 million

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

Concordia University's contract with its food service provider Aramark includes ambitious local sourcing requirements, which include:

• 75% of local fruits and vegetables in the summer months, 50% in the fall and 25% in the winter/spring seasons (with exception to citrus)
• Reasonable efforts to purchase local frozen fruits and vegetables
• Reasonable efforts to purchase soy-based products produced or processed locally
• Free-run shell eggs only
• Canadian dairy products only
• Poultry: 15% raised in Quebec and 3% organic
• Pork: 70% grown in Quebec (with exception of processed pork products)
• Beef: Canadian beef only and 15% grown in Quebec
• Seafood: 90% certified sustainable seafood and No seafood that is on the red list of the Union for Conservation of Nature (UFCN) or any similar organization
• 90% of coffee and tea has to be Fairtrade certified. Generic coffee will not be accepted in non-franchise outlets
• Reasonable efforts to purchase organic products

Aramark is also required to submit purchasing reports three times a year, which track progress on contractual targets.

As a Fair Trade Campus since 2016, our food service provider organizes events in the dining hall to celebrate and raise awareness about the value of Fairtrade.

In addition to achieving these targets, Aramark organizes "Local Food Day" each month in the dining halls where they offer a menu developed around locally sourced ingredients.

The university's Sustainability Action Plan 2020-25 focuses on five areas, one of which is our food system. Our purchasing objectives in the food plan include:
1. Sourcing 50% local, sustainable food in the summer/fall and 40% in the winter/spring, and
2. Reducing our animal origin foods to 30% of the food budget
3. Achieving Silver Status Fair Trade Certification


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:
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