Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.57
Liaison Jeff Spoelstra
Submission Date July 22, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Western Michigan University
OP-6: Food and Beverage Purchasing

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.80 / 4.00 Judy Gipper
Director
Dining Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Percentage of dining services food and beverage expenditures that are local and community-based and/or third party verified:
45
+ Date Revised: Aug. 13, 2014

A copy of an inventory, list or sample of sustainable food and beverage purchases:
An inventory, list or sample of sustainable food and beverage purchases:
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Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 of this credit (food and beverage expenditures for on-site franchises, convenience stores, vending services, or concessions)?:
No

Percentage of on-site franchise, convenience store, vending services, and concessions food and beverage purchases that are local and community-based and/or third party verified:
---

A copy of an inventory, list or sample of on-site franchise, convenience store, vending machine, and/or concessions food and beverage purchases that are sustainably produced:
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An inventory, list or sample of on-site franchise, convenience store, vending machine, and/or concessions food and beverage purchases that are sustainably produced:
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A brief description of the sustainable food and beverage purchasing program:
WMU Dining Service is committed to serving products grown and/or processed in the Great Lakes states (Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Wisconsin). Items that are grown and/or processed in this region are labeled with our Locally Sourced logo in the dining halls. The purpose of the Locally Sourced initiative is to reduce the carbon foot print of transporting goods from processors to end users by reducing the miles that food travels before it reaches the plate. WMU Dining Services supports the growth of this initiative that provides economic support to the Great Lakes region. The Great Lakes region provides us with a diverse agricultural base, which gives us the economic opportunity to use locally sourced food items that are produced, processed and distributed in this region. There are many items regularly served in the dining halls and Campus Cafés, or purchased for our special events that fall within this definition of Locally Sourced. Most entrees and many of the side dishes, soups, salads and desserts are prepared in our kitchens. Food items prepared from recipes using primarily a particular food, or a significant majority of ingredients from the Great Lakes region will also be labeled with the Locally Sourced logo. Our dairy products are from a local dairy in Battle Creek, Michigan. Groups of items from our dairy are not labeled with our Locally Sourced label sticker, but have information in a posted format. This is true for other items that are routinely available, such as bagels baked in Kalamazoo. Our produce is from a local distributor in Niles, Michigan who obtain much of their produce from this region. Produce items are labeled with the Locally Sourced label when they have been grown within the Great Lakes region. Dining Services will pursue opportunities to expand our purchasing practices to take advantage of products available locally, always weighing food safety, economics, reliability and availability of products, and student preferences in these purchasing practices.

A brief description of the methodology used to track/inventory sustainable food and beverage purchases:
Use of a proprietary reporting system of Gordon Food Service (one of the broadline distributors) to replicate the actual/probable percentage of locally sourced items. Personal interviews with company personnel. Recap of dollar sales from the accounting system of food suppliers located less than 250 miles from WMU. Recap of dollar sales from the accounting system of food suppliers located more than 250 miles from WMU.

Total annual food and beverage expenditures:
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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 --- ---
Franchises --- ---
Convenience stores --- ---
Vending services --- ---
Concessions --- ---

Has the institution achieved the following?:
Yes or No
Fair Trade Campus, College or University status No
Certification under the Green Seal Standard for Restaurants and Food Services (GS-46) No
Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification No
Signatory of the Real Food Campus Commitment (U.S.) No

A brief description of other sustainable restaurant and food service standards that the institution’s dining services operations are certified under:
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The website URL where information about the institution's sustainable food and beverage purchasing efforts is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.