Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 71.19
Liaison Margaret Bounds
Submission Date March 1, 2024

STARS v2.2

Connecticut College
OP-7: Food and Beverage Purchasing

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.39 / 6.00 Margaret Bounds
Director of Sustainability
Office of Sustainability
"---" 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:
4.70

Percentage of total annual food and beverage expenditures on plant-based foods:
37.05

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):
Food purchases were tracked for the full fiscal year 2023. Dining Services, which also manages purchasing for Events and Catering did an item by item inventory of purchases to identify plant-based foods. Which items were purchased by which department is noted in the inventory. Where the departments had questions about whether an item met the criteria, the Office of Sustainability provided research support. The Office of Sustainability also did a final review to ensure that all products met the credit descriptions of plant based foods.

If reporting Real/Good Food Calculator results, provide:

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 Yes Yes
Dining operations and catering services operated by a contractor No No
Student-run food/catering services Yes No
Franchises (e.g., regional or global brands) No 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

Optional Fields

A brief description of the institution’s sustainable food and beverage purchasing program:
Dining Services takes sustainability attributes, as described in a "sustainable food parameters" guiding document, as well as cost, into account when purchasing food. The milk and shelled eggs served in the dining halls are from local, community based suppliers. The Student Government Association passed a resolution mandating that all bananas served in the dining halls be Fair Trade. All tea and coffee served is Rainforest Alliance and/or Fair Trade certified. All meals served have vegan and vegetarian options.

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:
Data was compiled by the Dining Business Manager, Jonathan Shafer.

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.