| Overall Rating | Reporter - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | |
| Liaison | Chelsea Hamilton |
| Submission Date | March 1, 2019 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Vanderbilt University
OP-7: Food and Beverage Purchasing
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
Reporter |
Chelsea
Hamilton Sustainability Outreach Program Manager Environmental Health, Safety, and Sustainability |
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):
Dining employs a Sustainability Supervisor who is responsible for researching, implementing, and managing all of Dining’s green initiatives and participates in the planning and implementation of many campus-wide sustainability initiatives throughout the year. Vanderbilt Dining has established a Dining Advisory Committee, comprised of students and staff to address all aspects of dining on campus, including the procurement of sustainable foods. Wherever possible, efforts are made to provide seasonal, local, natural and organic foods. Vanderbilt Dining uses a vendor, FreshPoint, to fill food orders. FreshPoint automatically fills orders while prioritizing local farms/producers/vendors whenever possible.
Vanderbilt was recently awarded membership in the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative (MCURC). Co-founded and jointly led by Stanford University and The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative is a working group of leading scholars, foodservice business leaders, and executive chefs from invited colleges and universities who are accelerating efforts to move Americans toward healthier, more sustainable, plant-forward diets. MCURC encourages local sourcing and sustainable food choices.
Vanderbilt also uses LeanPath software to track and minimize food waste. This software provides Vanderbilt Dining with the analytics to help them understand what type and how much food waste is being generated so that more efficient and less wasteful strategies can be implemented to reduce waste.
In an effort to become more sustainable, Vanderbilt Dining has increased the number of plant- based dining choices. Some of these new options include the “Impossible Burger,” a 100 percent plant-based burger, and the “Blended Burger,” a 25 percent plant-based burger. With just the addition of these two options, meat consumption is expected to decrease by 700 pounds per month. Other plant-based food options include grilled BBQ spiced cauliflower steak, quinoa casserole, penne Bolognese which utilizes seitan (wheat meat) instead of red meat, meatless loaf and sweet potato jalapeno casserole. Vanderbilt became a member of the Mayor’s Food Saver Challenge in 2018. Participating in the Mayor’s Food Saver Challenge will help reduce the amount of food sent to Middle Tennessee landfills, while helping to relieve hunger by donating wholesome, edible food to local nonprofits serving over 100,000 food-insecure residents in Davidson County.
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):
Vanderbilt maintains a list of product vendors, their sustainable attributes, and how much is spent on sustainable products.
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 | Yes | Yes |
| Dining operations and catering services operated by a contractor | No | No |
| Student-run food/catering services | No | No |
| Franchises (e.g. national or global brands) | No | No |
| Convenience stores | Yes | Yes |
| Vending services | No | No |
| Concessions | No | 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.