University of Notre Dame
OP-6: Food Purchasing

This amount includes foods that were processed locally such as milk from Rochester, Indiana, tomato products from Tipton, Indiana, flour products from Howe, Indiana and eggs from Warsaw, Indiana. It also includes our Marine Stewardship Certified purchases of seafood and organically grown purchases that are local.

We have developed a Notre Dame Food Services Sustainable Food and Department Model that addresses:
1)Sustainable Production and Procurement (Local/Regional Foods)
2)Fair Trade Certified Products, Organic Foods and Sustainable Seafood (MSC Certified)
3)Recycling
4)Eco-friendly Service Ware
5)Reducing Food Waste

The model is our guide for our sustainable program. The model outlines our program of local or regional buying to be from Indiana, or any state that borders Indiana as well as Wisconsin (closest supplier of cheese products). We believe that our purchasing program is a sustainable practice that greatly reduces the use of fossil fuels and limits emissions. It provides the foods that we need from our growing region and limits bringing food from the southern states or either coast. It also supports local and regional economies while contributing to a strong community infrastructure.

Notre Dame is located in Northern Indiana, only a few miles from the Michigan border, in a region that is primarily made up of corn and soybean farming. This limits our ability to purchase fruits and vegetables that are grown in close proximity to our campus with the exception of Southwestern Michigan. We have a brief growing season in late summer when local items are in abundance from a short distance away and we take full advantage of all of the products grown. We get apples, mushrooms and potatoes locally for the entire year and tomatoes from near Indianapolis during the summer growing season all the way into October. Last year we were receiving 13 types of fresh fruits and 34 types of fresh vegetables from 123 growers in this area. Also, we started a campus garden last summer that provided us with 27 items and we are expanding the size this year to provide us with even more than we had last year.

Items that we are receiving that are processed locally include bread products, dairy products including ice cream, gelato, coffee (beans imported and processed in Michigan), tomato products, cheeses, poultry, meats, assorted chips, pizza, juices, cookies, pasta, crackers, sausages, cereals, fish, nuts, organic flour, bottled water, eggs, honey and some convenience foods.