Texas A&M University
OP-7: Food and Beverage Purchasing

Our current inventory represents purchasing data for the last academic school year for Texas A&M University in College Station, TX. Due to the extreme differences in our overall annual purchasing due to COVID-19, we pulled data from a sample taking into account seasonal availability. This included both October 2020 and February 2021. Our overall purchasing was down about 30% for this year compared to the data we submitted last year.

Explanations of percentage changes:
Sustainably & Ethically Produced: Our percentage for this went down slightly compared to last year. This was in part due to product availability from our vendors. Another reason for fewer purchases of these items is due to a lower campus population and potential overall concerns with higher-priced items (both for our company as well as consumers.) Our goal for next year is to work with our vendors to ensure we are keeping products that are sustainably & ethically produced on our product & ordering lists. This will be a project for our new Sustainability Supervisor.

Plant-Based Foods: Compared to the data submitted for the previous year, we believe we have more accurate numbers this year from our produce & coffee vendors. Also, we have increased our availability of plant-based proteins in our dining halls with specific events like Earth Day Dinner with eggplant & mushroom entrees for example. Also, more food was taken to-go in this previous academic year so more whole fruit was available.

We obtained the raw purchasing data from our FoodBuy partners. We pulled reports for October 2020 and February 2021 each. We filtered the Item Category columns to only include Food & Beverage purchases (i.e. excluding uniforms, equipment, etc.) We then inserted additional columns of Sustainable Attributes, Third Party Verified, & Plant-Based Foods. We categorized each remaining item and researched a) if it had a specific sustainable attribute and b) it is was plant-based. After this system was completed, we calculated the Total Spend column in each spreadsheet to gather the total purchasing that is now attached to this submission. Please email Yadira.hernandez@compass-usa.com and Stephanie.denson@compass-usa.com with questions.

Our dining program continued the goal of having at least 30% of our paper purchases contain post-consumer recycled content.

We opened a new location called The Market at Lamar in August 2020 and it serves locally roasted coffee from Independence Coffee in Brenham, TX.

We've also made a new partnership with Emerald Products to sell their sustainably & ethically produced paper products at our campus markets & convenience stores. They are also compostable. Here is a link to their website: https://www.emeraldbrand.com/

Texas A&M University Dining’s approach to social responsibility and sustainability is tied to our overall Balanced U and FYUL (Fueling Your Unique Lifestyle) wellness programming across campus. Through a variety of innovative programs and policies, we work closely with the communities we serve to reduce the impact our operations have on the world around us. Our focus on recycling, resource conservation, and waste reduction not only helps us operate more efficiently, but it also lets us ensure that the resources we use today will be available for future generations. Our Balanced U Sustainability approach addresses four basic tenets of sustainable and socially responsible business practices. In detail, Chartwells only offers Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC) certified cage-free shell eggs nationwide. In December 2007, Chartwells implemented a cage-free shell egg policy. All units are required to only offer shell eggs that are certified by the HFAC program in partnership with the Humane Society of America. We only serve chicken and turkey that has been produced with the restricted use of these drugs, especially as a growth additive in the feed. Our contracted suppliers are required to provide products that adhere to specific criteria developed in partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund. Chartwells serves only fresh, fluid milk and fresh yogurt from cows that have been certified to be free of the artificial growth hormones rBGH/rBST. Chartwells is committed to protecting the threatened global fish supply. In collaboration with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program, we established a landmark purchasing policy in 2006 that removes unsustainable wild and farmed seafood from our menus. We train our managers and chefs to build relationships with local farmers and produce distributors. To ensure food safety and traceability of local produce, purchasing is done through an approved produce distributor. Chartwells supports global sustainability through local action. We support these communities by partnering with local produce suppliers and encouraging good agricultural practices to provide quality produce, economic growth, and local community development. Responsible coffee production methods are certified in a variety of ways, including Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, Shade Grown, Bird Friendly, Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.) Practices, UTZ and organic. We encourage our units to offer a responsible choice based on client and guest preference, and availability.