Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 68.61
Liaison Alan Brew
Submission Date Feb. 26, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Northland College
OP-7: Food and Beverage Purchasing

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.44 / 6.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

This credit requires:

  • A completed STARS Food and Beverage Purchasing Inventory, 
  • An itemized inventory based on output from the Real Food Calculator, or
  • An alternative inventory that includes for each product:
    • Product vendor
    • Product label/brand
    • Product description
    • The category in which the product qualifies (Third Party Verified or Local & Community Based)
    • Information justifying inclusion: the standards met if the product is third party verified; ownership, size, distance, production methods for Local & Community Based products 

Part 1

Third Party Verified and Community Based Products

Percentage of dining services food and beverage expenditures on products that are third party verified under one or more recognized food and beverage sustainability standards or Local & Community-Based:
46.10

Part 2

Animal Products 

Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 of this credit (expenditures on conventional animal products)? (If data is not available, respond “No”):
Yes

Percentage of total dining services food and beverage expenditures on conventional animal products (meat, poultry, fish/seafood, eggs, and dairy products that do NOT qualify in either the Third Party Verified or Local & Community-Based category):
36.80

Food and Beverage Purchasing Inventory

Required if pursuing either part of the credit:

A brief description of the sustainable food and beverage purchasing program, including how the sustainability impacts of products in specific categories are addressed (e.g. meat, poultry, fish/seafood, eggs, dairy, produce, tea/coffee):
Northland College, in partnership with its food service provider Chartwells, purchases local and community-based foods from the Chequamegon Food Coop and over thirty local farmers and cooperatives to meet the College's food needs. Northland College is committed to achieving 80% of its food from local and community-based sources by 2020. Toward this effort, Chartwells agrees to demonstrate constant, demonstrable progress toward procuring selected food items with the following characteristics: non-national chain or name brand, 100% natural, no artificial sweeteners, low calorie, no preservatives, low sodium, non-GMO, locally and community-based, organically grown, low/no trans fats, no use of synthetic fertilizers/pesticides, made without gluten ingredients, low/no cholesterol, certified Kosher, minimal packaging, recyclable packaging, and vegan. For all items not available locally and community-based, Chartwells will source items with the following in mind: Cage Free Eggs, Fair Trade Certified rBGH Free Yogurt & Milk, Reduced/zero Antibiotic Chicken And Turkey, Socially and Ecologically Certified Coffee, Seafood from sustainable sources.

An inventory of the institution’s sustainable food and beverage purchases that includes for each product: the description/type; label, brand or producer; and the category in which it is being counted and/or a description of its sustainability attribute(s):
STARS Food Inventory 2017 01 & 10.xlsx

A brief description of the methodology used to conduct the inventory, including the timeframe and how representative samples accounted for seasonal variation (if applicable):
Chartwells Food Service staff maintain detailed records of all food purchases on a regular and ongoing basis. To account for seasonal variation, Chartwells inventoried all items purchased during January and October 2017 to give a representative sample of what is purchased during a school year. In October, Chartwells is still buying some local products; after the fresh products run out, Chartwells turns to the College's Food Processing Facility to continue to purchase local produce.

If uploading output from the Real Food Calculator, provide:

Percentage of total dining services expenditures on Real Food A (0-100):
---

Percentage of total dining services expenditures on Real Food B (0-100):
---

Required if pursuing either part of the credit:

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 No No
Dining operations and catering services operated by a contractor Yes Yes
Student-run food/catering services No No
Franchises (e.g. national or global brands) No No
Convenience stores No No
Vending services No No
Concessions No No

Optional Fields 

A brief description of purchased food and beverage products that have other sustainability attributes not recognized above :
---

Additional percentage of dining services food and beverage expenditures on conventional products with other sustainability attributes not recognized above (0-100) :
---

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
http://www.compass-usa.com/2017-corporate-social-responsibility-report/

Additional documentation to support the submission:
Local Spending 2016-2017 Complete.xls

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
---

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.