Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 54.34
Liaison Samuel Crowl
Submission Date March 11, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Ohio University
OP-6: Food and Beverage Purchasing

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.48 / 4.00 Erin Robb
Purchasing Specialist
Dining Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Percentage of dining services food and beverage expenditures that are local and community-based and/or third party verified:
12

A copy of an inventory, list or sample of sustainable food and beverage purchases:
An inventory, list or sample of sustainable food and beverage purchases:
---

Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 of this credit (food and beverage expenditures for on-site franchises, convenience stores, vending services, or concessions)?:
No

Percentage of on-site franchise, convenience store, vending services, and concessions food and beverage purchases that are local and community-based and/or third party verified:
---

A copy of an inventory, list or sample of on-site franchise, convenience store, vending machine, and/or concessions food and beverage purchases that are sustainably produced:
---

An inventory, list or sample of on-site franchise, convenience store, vending machine, and/or concessions food and beverage purchases that are sustainably produced:
---

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

Currently the University is focusing on sourcing local on a number of specific commodities. In 2014, we awarded new multi-year contracts for our milk and fresh meat providers. The bids for those awards focused on our desire to source locally, and the resulting contracts were awarded to Broughton Dairy (milk) and White Feather Farms (fresh chicken, beef, pork and Halal products). The fresh meat bid also focused on humane production. Combined milk and fresh meat purchases for the University total of approximately $1.25 million per year.

The University also partners with local farmers (Hidden Hills Orchard and Cowdery Farms) to source seasonal produce (apples, peppers, etc.). Combined yearly purchases from these local producers total approximately $40,000 per year.

The University also partners with Silver Bridge Coffee, which is locally produced and is a member of Fair Trade USA. The University spends approximately $18,000 a year on fair trade coffee from Silver Bridge.

Other partners who provide locally produced products with locally-sourced ingredient include Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream, Shagbark Seed and Mill, Frog Ranch Foods & Vino de Milo. Purchases from these vendors total $56,000.


A brief description of the methodology used to track/inventory sustainable food and beverage purchases:

Because the University has awarded multi-year bids to vendors who have certified that their products are locally and/or humanely produced, the University can track sustainable purchases at the vendor and item level. Our menu forecasting and inventory tracking software (Food Pro) can produce volume reports for these locally/humanely produced items. The same reporting is available to track purchases from our local produce partners.


Total annual food and beverage expenditures:
10,850,000 US/Canadian $

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 Yes Yes
Dining operations and catering services operated by a contractor No No
Franchises No No
Convenience stores Yes No
Vending services Yes No
Concessions Yes No

Has the institution achieved the following?:
Yes or No
Fair Trade Campus, College or University status No
Certification under the Green Seal Standard for Restaurants and Food Services (GS-46) No
Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification No
Signatory of the Real Food Campus Commitment (U.S.) No

A brief description of other sustainable restaurant and food service standards that the institution’s dining services operations are certified under:

Purchasing from businesses that help Ohio University's local economy is very important to us; in fact, many of our partners are members of Ohio Proud (www.ohioproud.org). Every dollar spent on Ohio Proud products is reinvested in the state's economy and supports local farmers, food processors and our community.

Additionally, Ohio University recently received an "A" grade from PETA2 for "going above and beyond to provide all students with exceptional vegan food.” This high mark was bestowed to only five other universities in Ohio and 114 colleges nationwide (out of more than 1,450).


The website URL where information about the institution's sustainable food and beverage purchasing efforts is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Sustainable practices and an environmental mindset aren’t simply ideals for Culinary Services – they are a way of life. Our entire team is eager to continue to further our environmental commitments in the coming years through a combination of student, faculty and staff input, planned venue renovations, proactive alliances with outside vendors to source sustainable, environmentally friendly items and other cooperative outreach projects.


Sustainable practices and an environmental mindset aren’t simply ideals for Culinary Services – they are a way of life. Our entire team is eager to continue to further our environmental commitments in the coming years through a combination of student, faculty and staff input, planned venue renovations, proactive alliances with outside vendors to source sustainable, environmentally friendly items and other cooperative outreach projects.

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.