Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.09
Liaison Jen Crothers
Submission Date Aug. 2, 2011
Executive Letter Download

STARS v1.1

University of British Columbia
OP-6: Food and Beverage Purchasing

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 5.81 / 6.00 Loriann McGowan
Director, Food Service Operations
UBC Food Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Percentage of food expenditures that meet one or more of the criteria for this credit (0 - 100):
48.39

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

UBC FOOD SERVICES - SUSTAINABLE FOOD AND BEVERAGE PURCHASING PROGRAM

UBC Food Services defines "local food" as food that has been grown, raised, produced or processed within 150 miles of campus. UBC Food Services employs procurement personnel who are trained in sustainable sourcing and tender and award contracts and manage departmental procurement needs with a focus on ethical and sustainable criterion. Preference and weighted criterion is given to local producers and manufacturers. Categories of local/organic food purchased include vegetables, fruits, milk and processed dairy products (ice cream, cheese, yogurt, butter), grains and beans, meat, poultry, eggs, seafood, baked goods, maple syrup, honey, sauces, spreads, hummus, salad dressings, tofu, noodles and beverages. In 2010, UBC Food Services purchased approximately $7700 worth of produce from the UBC Farm (http://www.landfood.ubc.ca/ubcfarm/), mainly in the form of herbs and salad greens for Sage Bistro.

Some of UBC Food Services’ successes include being the first Canadian University awarded FairTrade Campus status (http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/2011/05/05/ubc-named-canada’s-first-fair-trade-campus/). All eggs and poultry are sourced from local providers; all coffee and tea served in non-branded outlets is 100% fair trade, organic and shade grown; and all whole apples sourced are grown in BC. A majority of the seafood procured meets Ocean Wise (http://www.oceanwise.ca/) standards, meaning they are non-endangered species caught using sustainable fishing practices and are marked on our menus for ease of identification.

To see a full list of UBC's Food Services achievements, see http://www.food.ubc.ca/sustainability/sustainability-initiatives and the Green Report http://www.food.ubc.ca/sustainability/green-report.
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UBC ALMA MATER STUDENT SOCIETY - SUSTAINABLE FOOD AND BEVERAGE PURCHASING PROGRAM

The AMS Food and Beverage Department is committed to providing sustainably and locally produced foods whenever possible, supporting applied learning on food-related issues, reducing waste, and fostering positive changes through staff training, menu design, and various community events.

As per the AMS' Lighter Footprint Strategy (http://www.ams.ubc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/2AMS_Lighter_Footprint_Strategy_Mar_10_2008.pdf), the AMS aims to:
• Set informed targets for increasing the purchase of local food ingredients as a percentage of total food purchases
• Increase proportion of items procured from UBC Farm and strengthen relationships with other local producers
• Set informed targets for reducing high impact ingredients like meat and dairy in the AMS food outlets as a percentage of total food purchases. This includes reducing the proportion of meat to vegetables in recipes, as well as increasing vegetarian, vegan and raw food menu options.
• Significantly increase the number of certified organic, fair trade and GMO-free ingredients used by the AMS food outlets.

In 2010, the AMS Request for Proposal blanket document was amended to include Subsection 1.6.4 "The ability to provide information regarding distance products have travelled and original source of all product materials" and 1.6.5 "The quality and quantity of regular offerings from British Columbia based suppliers".

For more information on AMS sustainability initiatives, see http://www.ams.ubc.ca/campus-life/ams-sustainability/what-we-are-doing/#Food%20and%20Beverage.


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:

UBC Food Services is the primary food service provider on campus and is a 100% self-funded, ancillary department of UBC.
Contact: Loriann McGowan, Director, Food Operations, UBC Food Services
Website: http://www.food.ubc.ca/about-us

AMS Food and Beverage Department is the second largest provider of food services on campus, owned and operated by the students of UBC.
Contact: Nancy Toogood, Food and Beverage Manager, AMS Student Society of UBC Vancouver
Website: http://www.ams.ubc.ca/campus-life/ams-sustainability/


UBC Food Services is the primary food service provider on campus and is a 100% self-funded, ancillary department of UBC.
Contact: Loriann McGowan, Director, Food Operations, UBC Food Services
Website: http://www.food.ubc.ca/about-us

AMS Food and Beverage Department is the second largest provider of food services on campus, owned and operated by the students of UBC.
Contact: Nancy Toogood, Food and Beverage Manager, AMS Student Society of UBC Vancouver
Website: http://www.ams.ubc.ca/campus-life/ams-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.