University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
OP-6: Food and Beverage Purchasing

In an effort to become more sustainable, UWM Restaurant Operations has initiated the concept of Living Operating Consuming and Acquiring Locally. Our LOCAL concept will offer the students of UWM an opportunity to live and consume locally by participating in the food service programs and notice the steps taken by UWM to procure and promote local products and business. Our local brand will be marketed on the produce, prepared foods and equipment that fall under our LOCAL concept. Some examples of how we are applying our LOCAL concept is buying cheese from Vern’s Cheese in Door County, utilizing Wisconsin Catering companies by buying select meats for our special meals from Bunzel’s Meat Market, and changing our soy milk to Kikkoman Pearl located here in Wisconsin, to name a few. For Fiscal Year 2012, total food/beverage purchases = $6,768,624. Total food and beverage purchases which meet criteria = $958,361.35.

Local food expenditures include: Alterra - Coffee/teas; Bakery goods; (Fair Trade & Local) $230,020 RISHI-Teas (Local & Fair Trade) $563.50 Aubon apetit-Meditarannean foods (Local) $77,162.44 UNFI (Organic) $13,770.84 Verns Cheese Company (Local) $1,802.04 Sandburg Gardens–on campus gardens (Local) $5,000 Growing Power (Local) $1000 Midwest Foods (Local) $300 Miller Bakery (Local) $29,498.69 Reinhart Companies (Local) $433,621.25 Other Companies (Local) $165,612.59