New York University
OP-6: Food Purchasing

NYU purchases Fair Trade coffee and Monterey Bay-certified seafood products in dining halls. Locations strive to feature local and organic certified products and ingredients, with varying (5-40%) quantities of produce, dairy, baked goods and meats meeting one or more of these criteria. The Hayden Dining Hall especially emphasizes local, organic and Fair Trade items. Most of NYU's current more sustainable food ingredients are local in origin (29.9% of all expenditures), and much of this is also organic or otherwise third-party certified. A smaller portion of all expenditures is not local but is organic (.6%) or Marine Stewardship Council certified (seafood, .7%). Local "origin" was the test for food expenditures -- local-based "distribution" as part of products' life cycles was not factored toward NYU's fulfillment of these criteria. Added value products such as baked goods were considered local if produced (e.g. baked, canned, etc.) within 250 miles; primary ingredients such as produce and meat were considered local if they were produced (e.g. grown, raised) within 250 miles.