| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 66.09 |
| Liaison | Elizabeth Drake |
| Submission Date | March 3, 2023 |
Swarthmore College
OP-7: Food and Beverage Purchasing
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.08 / 6.00 |
Clare
Hyre Associate Director of Sustainability Office of Sustainability |
Percentage of total annual food and beverage expenditures on products that are sustainably or ethically produced:
Percentage of total annual food and beverage expenditures on plant-based foods:
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):
In the 2022-23 year, Sustainability Research Fellow Gary Chen is piloting tracking based on the Real Food Challenge with the Retail Dining Services food and beverage purchasing. The figures above are an estimate of the portion of food and beverage produces sold by the retail department that qualify as certified ethically-produced or plant-based as a percentage of the total dining services budget. We calculated this percentage based on what we spend in our retail department, which runs three food outlets on campus. We did not have the data or capacity to investigate the spending for most of our dining operations, including the main dining hall. We do not know how much of that spending is certified, so we assumed it is zero for this report. This makes our percentage very low, but what we include is justified by the product research found on the second tab of this spreadsheet. It is a highly-conservative estimate of the overall portion of ethically produced and plant-based foods, since it does not include the expenditures of the dining services outside the retail department. We hope Gary's project can transition to using the Real Food Challenge for the entirety of Dining Services in coming years.
Website URL where the institution’s validated Real/Good Food Calculator results are publicly posted:
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:
A brief description of the institution’s sustainable food and beverage purchasing program:
Dining Services purchasing program strives to uphold the College's commitment to sustainability by sourcing locally produced foods, reducing waste and conserving resources. Dining services not only directly purchases from local producers but also works with local, privately owned food distributers.
Website URL where information about the food and beverage purchasing program is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
This data was assembled by representatives from the Office of Sustainability.
This data was assembled by representatives from the Office of Sustainability.
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.