Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 61.04
Liaison Tina Woolston
Submission Date March 1, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Tufts University
OP-7: Food and Beverage Purchasing

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.71 / 6.00 Patricia Klos
Director of Dining and Business Services
Dining Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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:
7.10

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):
25

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):

Sustainability is a priority at Tufts Dining. In 1995 with the renovation of our largest dining center, Dewick-MacPhie, it was established that both dining centers would feature organic whole grains and legumes exclusively on the vegetarian stations. Other organic items were sourced as well, including (local) oatmeal, tofu, granola, and peanut butter.

The commitment to purchase locally grown food during fall semester began in 2002. Today, we purchase as much locally grown produce as is available from our produce distributor, Costa Fruit and Produce. We also are working closely with Costa Fruit & Produce along with Sid Wainer & Sons Produce for processed vegetables, directing them to acquire as much local vegetables as possible throughout the growing season. Marinara sauce and applesauce are made from MA-grown tomatoes and apples sourced from FATBOY Foods: https://www.fbfoods.com/ Although we are limited by the short New England growing season we maximize what we purchase by creating seasonal menus that highlight the produce which is grown locally.

Seafood is sourced from Foley's Fish: http://www.foleyfish.com/StoreBoston/main/home.aspx. We are mindful of our purchases, preferring to purchase fish from local waters that are deemed as acceptable based on government information and seafood guides. Tufts Dining supports the livelihood of local fishermen by purchasing locally caught wild fish, which we serve in many of our seafood dishes in the dining centers. We also purchase sustainable-farm-raised seafood, including tilapia, catfish, trout, clams, and mussels.

Fair Trade Certified products ensure that producers in developing countries work in safe conditions and receive a living wage. We serve fair trade or organic coffee in Hotung Café and the Tower Café, with certified fair trade Rain Forest Alliance certified coffee in Carmichael and Dewick-MacPhie Dining Centers, Hodagdon, Mugar and Catering.

Tufts Dining purchases its milk from Garelick Farms (Dean Foods), which sources it locally from dairy farms in Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York. http://garelickfarms.com/ All of our yogurt is local, coming from Green Mountain Creamery and Stonyfield. We purchase local cheese from Cabot and a local cheddar through Paul Marks.


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):
A brief description of the methodology used to conduct the inventory, including the timeframe and how representative samples accounted for seasonal variation (if applicable):

Tufts Dining receives annual reports from its purveyors, which track sustainable food and beverages based upon our definitions.


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

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

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
Student-run food/catering services Yes No
Franchises (e.g. national or global brands) No No
Convenience stores No No
Vending services Yes No
Concessions No No

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

Although some of our milk and yogurt do not fit the strict guidelines for Local & Community based as the companies are owned by large corporations, the milk is derived from local dairy farms employing individuals in rural New England. Additionally, our sustainable seafood purchases include fish like Hake, Red Fish, Pollock that are locally caught and which Monterrey Bay Aquarium rates as "good alternative".


Additional percentage of dining services food and beverage expenditures on conventional products with other sustainability attributes not recognized above (0-100) :
2.30

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Please look at both the attached PDF and the attached spreadsheet. The PDF indicates the total expenditures on organic or "local and community-based" food products. The spreadsheet explains why these companies are local and community-based.


Please look at both the attached PDF and the attached spreadsheet. The PDF indicates the total expenditures on organic or "local and community-based" food products. The spreadsheet explains why these companies are local and community-based.

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.