| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 49.76 |
| Liaison | Aurora Sharrard |
| Submission Date | Feb. 28, 2018 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Pittsburgh
OP-7: Food and Beverage Purchasing
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.53 / 6.00 |
Nick
Goodfellow Sustainability Coordinator Dining Services |
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:
Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 of this credit (expenditures on conventional animal products)? (If data is not available, respond “No”):
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):
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):
The food and beverage purchasing program is primarily guided by the Real Food Challenge. Students convinced the University to sign on to the challenge at the largest dining hall in 2015. As of Jan 2018 the University expanded the initiative across campus to serve 25% “real food” by 2025 as part of the new Pitt Sustainability Plan.
Chicken products are purchased from a local chicken producer and we’re proud of the product they’re able to provide. As Pennsylvania is one of the largest dairy-producing states, we’re also proud of the milk we purchase from within the state.
In the latest Pitt Sustainability Plan we also committed to serving 25% less animal products by 2025. With both commitments we are heading in a “less meat, better meat” direction and looking for opportunities to purchase more sustainable animal products including meat, turkey, fish/seafood, and eggs. We are also working with our local produce distributor to assist us in purchasing more local produce.
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):
Real Food Challenge students audit two months worth of invoices as representative of the entire year’s worth of food purchases. We work closely with all unit managers to collect invoices and provide them to the students for their audit. Invoices are collected by the Dining Services Sustainability Coordinator who works with the students to ensure all invoices are collected.
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 | No | No |
| Dining operations and catering services operated by a contractor | Yes | Yes |
| Student-run food/catering services | No | No |
| Franchises (e.g. national or global brands) | Yes | Yes |
| Convenience stores | Yes | Yes |
| Vending services | Yes | No |
| Concessions | Yes | No |
A brief description of purchased food and beverage products that have other sustainability attributes not recognized above :
Additional percentage of dining services food and beverage expenditures on conventional products with other sustainability attributes not recognized above (0-100) :
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:
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.