University of California, Davis
OP-7: Food and Beverage Purchasing

All University of California food entities are mandated to report sustainable food expenditures to the UC Office of the President (UCOP) on an annual basis for the fiscal year (July 1 – June 30). In an effort to streamline the reporting process for UC Davis food operations, all of the food expenditure data included in this report is based on the fiscal year rather than the calendar year. Because the UC Sustainable Foodservice Policy was going through a review process during Summer and Fall 2019, when data was prepared and collected for the Annual Report on [UC] Sustainable Practices, UC food operations that were meeting the current goals of the UC policy were given the option to report expenditure data for this annual report from the previous year (2017-2018) aligning with sustainability standards previously set by the UC Sustainability Foodservice Working Group (UCSFWG), or to submit baseline data from 2018-2019 for the newly proposed UC Sustainable Foodservice policy that focused on criteria aligning with STARS’ sustainably or ethically produced standards. Student Housing and Dining Services (SHDS) submitted previous data from 2017-2018. The ASUCD Coffee House (CoHo) submitted 2018-2019 baseline data aligning with STARS standards. Because a considerable amount of time and effort is involved in collecting and analyzing food spend data, SHDS and CoHo both could only provide the data for this March 2020 STARS submission that they collected for the annual UC report that was published in January 2020.

Student Housing and Dining Services (SHDS) sustainable food purchases were analyzed using data input by SHDS student staff for fiscal year 2017-2018. The raw data provided was already filtered for purchases that complied with the UC Sustainable Foodservice Policy. This data was then analyzed for purchases that complied with STARS sustainable or ethically produced standards in order to yield the SHDS total annual food and beverage spend on products that are sustainably or ethically produced. The SHDS total annual food and beverage spend on plant-based foods was also pulled from the raw data previously filtered for purchases that complied with the UC Sustainable Foodservice Policy. Because the raw data that was previously filtered did not include plant-based food products that did not align with UC Sustainable Foodservice criteria (in particular, non-organic produce and other uncertified plant-based food items were filtered out of the data), the calculated SHDS plant-based spend is almost certainly significantly lower than the actual plant-based spend.

The ASUCD Coffee House (CoHo), a student-run retail operation separate from SHDS, has a dedicated student intern who tracked sustainable purchases throughout fiscal year 2018-2019. As invoices came in the intern entered the item and dollar amount spent on the purchase in a spreadsheet along with information about any certifications or sustainable qualifiers the product has. The only products subject to seasonal variation are produce items. For example, tomatoes in the summer may come from an organic, local farm, but tomatoes in the winter may come from a farm in Mexico that is not organic. The produce company, Daylight, tracked all of this information and sent it over at the end of the fiscal year; the interns then transferred all of the information into the main spreadsheet. Because the CoHo data complies with STARS standards, the total annual food and beverage spend on products that are sustainably or ethically produce and the total annual food and beverage spend on plant-based foods were pulled directly from the spreadsheet.

The total annual food and beverage expenditures for both of the campus food entities were then added together in order to calculate the campus percentage of total annual food and beverage expenditures on products that are sustainably or ethically produce and the campus percentage of total annual food and beverage expenditures on plant-based foods.

The University of California Sustainable Practices Policy guides sustainability efforts across the ten campuses and other university facilities. Sustainable Foodservice is one of the main focus areas of this policy. The system wide UC Sustainable Foodservice Working Group (UCSFWG), which includes staff from every UC campus and health system, sets the sustainable food goals for the policy. University of California tracks progress towards sustainability goals in its Annual Report on Sustainable Practices. As a system, in 2014 the University of California reached the sustainable food service goal of procuring 20% sustainable food by 2020. Given this accomplishment the UCSFWG has been reviewing the sustainable foodservice policy over the past few years. In January 2020, the policy group’s new goal stating, “each campus foodservice operation shall strive to procure 25% sustainable food products by the year 2030 as defined by AASHE STARS,” was approved by the UC Office of the President Sustainability Steering Committee. Along with goals for sustainable food purchasing, the updated policy also contains goals around education for patrons and food service staff and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by implementing plant-forward menus. The food service operations at UC Davis are excited to begin working towards these new goals at their operations in 2020.

UC Davis Student Housing and Dining Services (SHDS) is already committed to actively engaging in procedures, policies, and practices that foster sustainable solutions at the University of California, Davis. As a leader in providing healthy, well-balanced meals to the campus community and an enriched educational environment that foster a balance of mind, body, and soul, SHDS has developed an integrated sustainable food systems program in each of the campus dining commons, catering and retail operations. All three Resident Dining Commons (Tercero, Segundo, and Cuarto) under SHDS are Sacramento Area Sustainable Business Certified (SASBC). SASBC reflects highly efficient equipment, water and energy savings practices in production, and student/staff education. In January 2020 SHDS opened a new dining common operation called Latitude Restaurant. Celebrating the diversity of the UC Davis community, Latitude Restaurant features a menu of international dishes scratch-made from fresh, locally-sourced ingredients, served from their Latin American, European, Middle Eastern and Indian, and Asian-themed platforms.

The ASUCD Coffee House (CoHo) is proud to be a sustainable operation on the UC Davis campus. Purchasing practices and education play a big role in sustainability for the student-run food operation. The CoHo uses its purchasing power to support the companies, practices and ideals that it feels helps the local and global community. For instance, the CoHo’s coffee selection is organic and/or fair trade, giving maximum benefit to the farmer and the land on which the coffee is grown. The CoHo has also developed a relationship with local farmers, through its produce provider (Daylight) and the UC Davis Student Farms, to make organic and locally-grown fruits and vegetables available to customers whenever possible.

In addition to making sustainability-conscious purchasing decisions, the CoHo believes in the importance of educating its customers on the benefits of living a sustainable lifestyle. Local and organic food items are labeled accordingly, creating an awareness of the path that their food has taken and how the customer’s food selections can impact the global community. As an employer of over 400 college students, the CoHo also strives to bestow upon its employees a sense of pride in the social impact made by their employer.

Due to the 2017-2018 data being used in this report a significant increase on percentage of total annual food and beverage expenditures on products that are sustainably or ethically produced and on plant-based foods during the next STARS reporting period is expected.

Please note that all items marked ‘organic’ on the inventory of food and beverage purchases meet the sustainable agriculture standards as outlined in the STARS 2.2 Technical Manual. All produce purchased from the UC Davis Student Farms is California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) accredited and most other items marked as organic are USDA Organic Certified.

Student Housing and Dining Services sustainable food and beverage purchasing information: https://housing.ucdavis.edu/sustainability/dining/

ASUCD Coffee House sustainable food and beverage purchasing information: https://coffeehouse.ucdavis.edu/sustainability/

Vindyani Jayasinghe, a visiting Humphrey Fellow with the Office of Sustainability, assisted in compiling this credit response.