Thompson Rivers University
OP-7: Food and Beverage Purchasing

The managers of the two main TRU food and beverage operations (TRU Food Services, which includes Aramark) and Culinary Arts) were asked to supply a list of all food and beverage purchases from September 1, 2021 to August 31, 2022 that met the criteria and definitions around the STARS defined terms 'Sustainable/Ethical' and 'Plant-based'. This data was then verified by TRU Sustainability Office staff to confirm its accuracy, and then it was entered into the attached inventory sheet.

TRU has two primary food and beverage operations that are part of the institution: the TRU Culinary Arts Program (which includes the Retail Meat Cutting program), and Aramark, the primary dining services contractor hired by TRU Food Services. The TRU Student Union (TRUSU) runs a cafe called Common Grounds. It will not be counted in this section since TRUSU is officially a separate governed entity from the institution of TRU (https://trusu.ca/). Only Culinary Arts and Aramark expenditures are included in the figures provided. Following is a brief description of each of their sustainable food and beverage purchasing programs:

TRU Culinary Arts Program (http://www.tru.ca/act/culinary.html).
Culinary Arts supports local and community-based vendors whenever possible and buys from many on a regular basis, especially when fresh produce is available during the main growing months. All meats used in the Retail Meat Processing program is sourced from local and community-based suppliers. The former Chair of the Culinary Arts Program and current faculty member, Ed Walker, was instrumental in developing the successful Farm2chefs collaborative (http://www.farm2chefs.com), which works by bringing local farms/ranches together and partnering them with local restaurants in order to see more local and substantially produced food get from the farm to the consumer. Most beer and wine used in the Culinary Arts program is sourced from local providers. All coffee used is fair trade and organic.

Aramark (in contract with TRU Food Services) (http://www.aramark.com/):
Aramark accounts for the majority of food and beverage purchases at TRU (approximately 70%) and buys many local, community-based and/or third-party verified products, especially during the growing season when fresh produce is easily attainable. Due to its defined contract, however, it is often limited by price, supplier and other contractual obligations regarding its ability to buy from local, community-based and/or third-party verified vendors. As the largest food provider on campus (including largest caterer), Aramark buys a lot of coffee, most of which is certified fair trade and organic.
Aramark at TRU has implemented their “Green Tread” program in its operations.
The following is from the Aramark website (https://www.tru.ca/campus/life/food-services/did-you-know/sustainability.html): " "Green Thread™ was introduced in 2008 by Aramark, and is a brand that encompasses a range of environmental stewardship programs and practices that can be offered to our clients. Green Thread™ allows Aramark to efficiently customize an environmental strategy that educates and engages consumers in environmental practices that extend from our on-site operations to opportunities at home for the entire family".
http://www.aramark.com/about-us/news/aramark-general/green-thread-environmental-sustainability-platform. TRU Food Services is also part of the relatively new Feed BC program. Feed BC is a provincial government initiative led by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, to encourage, inspire and support a shift to more B.C. food in hospitals, residential care facilities, public post-secondary institutions, and other government-supported facilities.(https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/agriculture-seafood/growbc-feedbc-buybc/feed-bc-and-the-bc-food-hub-network).

Data provided by Paul Murphy (TRU Culinary Arts) and Rajinder Kaur (TRU Food Services/Aramark).