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

1. UCI Hospitality and Dining/Aramark collaborate with produce vendors to source local foods from within 250 miles of campus. Our produce vendor, Freshpoint Produce Company, sends a “Hot Sheet” weekly that indicates what produce is locally sourced. UCI then works this into its menu mix where appropriate. 2. UC Irvine includes a minimum amount of certified organic items on its residential dining salad bar. 3. Organic Greens To Go, a retail dining location on campus, features made-to-order items where the majority of the menu selections are certified organic. 4. All seafood purchases must meet the Monterey Bay Aquarium Guidelines for Sustainable Seafood. 5. All coffee products purchased for residential dining and Java City Coffee locations are Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance certified, organic or a combination of two or more of these categories. 6. All eggs served on campus are cage-free.

All food purchases are totaled from invoices for our dining locations and classified as to whether they are sustainable or conventional using AASHE STARS 2.1.3 list of applicable third-party verified products or products that are both local and community-based (using STARS 2.1.3 definitions). The inventory of products is entered into the STARS Food and Beverage Purchasing Inventory, and the percentage of STARS-applicable sustainable purchases is calculated from the total food and beverage spend. In calculating the percentage, products are counted as sustainable if they meet either one or more of the approved third-party verified criteria or are both local and community-based. Any product that neither meets an approved third-party verified criteria nor is both local and community-based is considered conventional and used only to determine total spend, not sustainable spend. Classification of products based on third-party verification and local+community-based status is done either by referencing labeling on invoices, where available (e.g. Java City labels which items are Rainforest Alliance Certified, Fair Trade Certified [FT USA] or Certified USDA Organic), or product and vendor research by our Sustainability Coordinator where an invoice does not list an applicable third-party verification, or where local+community-based status may apply.

HEALTHY DINING Empowering Americans to make better food choices is the goal of a breakthrough initiative between the American Heart Association®, the nation's largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke, and Aramark, the largest U.S.-based food services provider. Aramark is the campus's primary food service contractor. Healthy for Life® 20 By 20, a five-year initiative, introduces industry leading menu commitments by reducing calories, saturated fat and sodium levels 20 percent, and increasing fruits, vegetables and whole grains 20 percent. FOOD SECURITY In September 2017, UCI launched the FRESH Basic Needs Hub, a 2,318-square-foot space featuring a pantry stock with dried and canned goods, baskets of fresh fruits and vegetables, refrigerated items and emergency toiletries. FRESH, which stands for Food Resources Empowering Students with Hope, is a student initiated venture of the Student Outreach & Retention Center (SOAR) aimed at meeting the basic nutritional needs of UCI students so that they can achieve their academic goals. It is the largest and most comprehensive food pantry in the University of California system. See: https://news.uci.edu/2017/10/02/a-souped-up-pantry/ and https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oa-taHofq7wPfEF7jHR7ZeVoYkudPyDhPuVJDD8D39s/edit STUDENT MEAL DONATIONS Zot Out Hunger is an initiative working to end student hunger at UCI. Students can donate up to 5 guest meal swipes to a peer each quarter. Donated meals are redistributed to UCI students who apply for the Emergency Meal Swipes Program. See: http://www.basicneeds.uci.edu/get-involved/zoh.php

Following AASHE Stars 2.1, all calculations include both residential dining commons, catering, 3 proprietary food courts. The locations included are operated by Aramark, the campus's primary food service contractor. Locations not included include national brands, sub-contracted, and independently operated locations.