Dickinson College
OP-7: Food and Beverage Purchasing

All produce needs are checked against the weekly availability list provided by the Dickinson College Farm; when available, those products are purchased from the Farm. When not available from our farm our sustainability dining vendor policy is enacted. We prefer working with vendors who have well-developed sustainability statements, policies, and practices. Decision-making related to the selection of vendors with whom we do business, how we choose the products we use, and our preferences for equipment and materials used in our facilities will always include important sustainability factors such as those found in LEED certification programs and that will support today’s goals and objectives as well as those of tomorrow. Following are brief descriptions of considerations important to us: Employee welfare Animal welfare Energy consumption Water use and conservation Local and community based producers and products Compostable, Recycling, and Landfill Diversion Food and beverages should be naturally wholesome Public Safety We expect our vendors to be able to provide us with the sourcing details of the products they provide us: from where and when did products come, from whom and how, the miles travelled to be processed and the miles to get to us. We prefer to use producers, farms, and processors located within 250 miles of our campus. We prefer to source products from producers who are third-party certified such as Fair Trade Certified™, Marine Stewardship Council™ Certified, Rainforest Alliance Certified, Food Alliance Certified, Protected Harvest, Salmon Safe, Certified Humane Raised and Handled® We prefer to source products from producers who are small to mid-sized and are more than 50 percent owned by socially or economically disadvantaged individuals, minorities and/or women.

Dickinson College Center for Sustainability Education checks DDS purchases against a confirmed list of sustainable, local, organic etc. vendors annually for the fiscal year prior purchases. Each fiscal year we update our list of sustainable vendors, and apply this to a custom template built which can calculate % local & community based, % third party verified, % local, and weights of food by category so we can calculate carbon and nitrogen footprints from our food and beverage purchases.

Dickinson College estimates another 7% of food that is local, but not community-based. We due make an effort to prioritize distance in reducing overall carbon and nitrogen impacts. So, although these items/vendors are not included in this inventory, we do think they are an effort in the right direction.

Dickinson Dining Services is committed to the future in our procurement practices of today so that we may continually improve our practices in all that we do. We look to the future to contribute to a healthy environment for our guests, for ourselves and our families, and to leave a positive legacy that we owe to future generations. Food and beverage purchasing is critical to advancing these goals, and we hope to continue to work sourcing more local and community-based options each year.