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With the publication of the College Sustainability Report Card 2010, more than 1,100 school survey responses from over 300 institutions are now available online. In total, these surveys offer more than 10,000 pages of data collected from colleges and universities during the summer of 2009. To access surveys from other schools, go to the surveys section of the website. To see grades, or to access additional surveys submitted by this school, please click the "Back to Report Card" link at the beginning or end of the survey.
Name: Helen Wechsler
Title: Director of Dining
Date survey submitted: 7-21-09
1) Total annual food budget: [$13.7 M ]
LOCALLY GROWN AND PRODUCED FOOD
Note: Geographic location and seasonal availability are taken into account in assessing your response. "Local" is defined as within 150 miles of your campus.
2) Do you have any formal policies pertaining to local purchases?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please describe and provide URL, if available: Dining considers sustainability in Request for Bid for vendor analysis and selection, with an emphasis on local vendors to decrease emissions from delivery. Dining Services works with local manufacturers to develop programs that allocate rebates to support socially- and environmentally-responsible community projects and programs. http://www.bc.edu/offices/dining/about/sustain.html
Questions 3-5 pertain to locally grown purchases.
3).From how many local forms or growers do you purchase (excluding on-campus farms/gardens)?
[ 3 ] Number from which you purchase directly.
[15] Number from which you purchase through a distributor. Please specify name and location of distributor: to name a few: Costa Fruit & Produce, Boston, MA; A. Russo, Watertown, MA; Sid Wainer, New Bedford, MA; Richardson’s Ice Cream, Middleton, MA; Shelterwood, Fall River; Paul W. Marks, Everett, MA; HP Hood, Agawam, MA; Garelick Farms, Lynn, MA; T.F. Kinnealey, Easton, MA; US Foodservice, Everett, MA
4) How much do you spend annually on purchasing food that was grown or raised locally?
[$ 4.7 M ]
5) Please list foods you purchase that are grown or raised locally (e.g., fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, milk, fish, honey, maple syrup; foods that are processed locally should be listed in question 8):
Milk, fish, burgers, vegetables, fruits, eggs, breads
Questions 6-8 pertain to locally produced and/or processed items.
6) From how many local processors do you purchase?
[11] Number from which you purchase directly.
[ # ] Number from which you purchase through a distributor. Please specify name and location of distributor:
This is a difficult question to answer accurately, because we may very well have locally processed foods on our specification to distributors that are locally processed and we simply do not know it at this time.
7) How much do you spend annually on purchasing food that was processed locally?
[$2.5M ]
8) Please list items you purchase that are processed locally (e.g., bread, granola, ice cream, baked goods, yogurt, cheese): breads, ice cream, eggs, artisan cheese, tomato sauce, candy, coffee, milk, fresh cut fruit, cakes, pies, cookies, potato chips
9) Do you purchase milk from a local dairy?
[ X ] No Note: we buy from hood who used local dairies but we do not buy directly from the dairy.
[ ] Yes. Please provide name of dairy and location:
10) Do you source any food from an on-campus farm or garden?
[ X ] No
[ ] Yes. Please describe source and amount:
11) Do you participate in a farm-to-school program?
[X] No
[ ] Yes. Please describe program:
ORGANIC AND SUSTAINABLY PRODUCED FOOD
12) Do you have any formal policies pertaining to the purchase of organic and/or sustainably produced food?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. www.bc.edu/offices/dining/about/sustain.html
13) Do you purchase organically grown or produced food?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please list items: salad dressings, yogurt, coffee, some snack foods, some produce
14) How much do you spend annually on organically grown or produced food?
[$ ]
For questions 15-19, please indicate percentage based on annual dollar amount spent.
15) Do you purchase cage-free eggs and/or confinement-free meat products?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please indicate (repeat for each product).
[100 %] Percentage cage-free eggs shell on
[10 %] Percentage confinement-free. Type of meat product: natural burgers
[40 %] Percentage confinement-free. Type of meat product: humane chicken
16) Do you purchase any grass-fed animal products?
[ ] No
[X] Yes. Please indicate (repeat for each product).
[10 %] Grass-fed. Type of animal product: Natural Hamburgers
[ %] Grass-fed. Type of animal product:
17) Do you purchase hormone- and antibiotic-free meat?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please indicate (repeat for each product).
[ 10 %] Percentage hormone- and antibiotic-free. Type of meat: natural Hamburgers
[100%] Percentage hormone- and antibiotic-free. Type of meat: Fresh Boneless Chicken Breasts
18) Do you purchase hormone- and antibiotic-free dairy products?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please indicate (repeat for each product).
[100 %] Percentage hormone- and antibiotic-free. Type of dairy product: Milk
[50%] Percentage hormone- and antibiotic-free. Type of dairy product: artisan cheese
19) Do you purchase seafood that meets Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch guidelines or Marine Stewardship Council standards?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please indicate.
[75 %] Percentage purchased that meets guidelines. Please list guidelines used: hook and line caught sustainable fish; follow the Best Choices and Good Alternatives for fish purchases under Monterey Bay Seafood Watch categories.
20) Do you offer specifically labeled vegan entrees on a daily, weekly, or other regularly scheduled basis?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please specify number of options and the frequency with which they are offered: A minimum of 5 out of 9 Vegan entrée options are available on a daily basis through Grab N’ Go program. In addition vegan soups are rotated regularly on a menu cycle.
21) Please list and give percentages for any other sustainably produced food items you purchase that are not included above:
FAIR TRADE PRODUCTS
22) Do you purchase Fair Trade Certified coffee?
[ ] No
[ X ] Some. Please describe: Dining services serves certified fair trade coffee exclusively at all restaurant operations.
[ ] All
23) Do you purchase other Fair Trade Certified food products?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please indicate (repeat for each product).
[100 %] Percentage purchased that is Fair Trade Certified. Type of item: Divine Chocolate Bars
DISHWARE AND ECO-FRIENDLY INCENTIVES
24) Please indicate which of following your university-operated/contracted dining facilities offers.
[ ] Disposable dishware
[ ] Only reusable dishware
[ X ] Reusable and disposable dishware
25) If you offer disposables, please indicate materials used (check all that apply).
[ X ] Plastic or polystyrene
[ ] Postconsumer recycled content
[ X ] Biodegradable/compostable
[ ] Other
Description (optional): BC Dining has been encouraging students to choose china over plastic by offering large china bowls at both the salad bar and the pasta bar. Styrofoam plates were removed from the Hillside Cafe and replaced with biodegradable plates, and The Loft @ Addies offers china for those staying in or compostable plates and biodegradable cutlery as to-go options.
26) Do your dining facilities offer discounts or cash incentives to individuals using reusable dishware, bringing a bag, or bringing reusable containers?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please describe: Customers receive a discount for bringing refillable mugs to retail locations.
27) Do your dining facilities use any polystyrene products (i.e., Styrofoam)?
[ X] No
[ ] Yes. Please describe:
FOOD COMPOSTING AND WASTE DIVERSION
28) Do your dining facilities compost preconsumer food scraps?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please indicate the proportion of dining facilities that run preconsumer compost programs (e.g. two out of five dining facilities) and, if available, the combined annual tonnage composted.
[50 %] Proportion of dining facilities that run preconsumer compost programs.
[ ] Annual tonnage of preconsumer compost. Pre and post consumer tonnage is combined, see annual tonnage in question 29
29) Do your dining facilities compost postconsumer food scraps?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please indicate the proportion of dining facilities that run postconsumer compost programs (e.g. two out of five dining facilities) and, if available, the combined annual tonnage composted. Four out of eight
[50 %] Proportion of dining facilities that run postconsumer compost programs.
[124 ] Annual tonnage of post consumer compost.
30) Do your dining facilities donate excess food to a food bank, soup kitchen, or shelter, etc.?
[ ] No
[X ] Yes. Please describe: We support the Greater Boston Food bank and more specifically the “Second Helping” Program. In May of 2009 we donated 2,772 pounds of prepared food. This donation resulted in 2,132 meals distributed to those in need. Additionally, during the school year, we donated another 2,972 pounds of excess food which provided another 2,286 meals to those in need.
31) Do your dining facilities have a trayless dining program?
[X] No, but it is important to note that all of our operations are a la carte and so food waste by the customer is extremely limited.
[] Sometimes--on specific days, on certain occasions, or in specific locations. Please describe:
[ ] Yes--standard practice. Please describe program including date started and, if available, data on reduced food waste or water consumption:
32) Please tell us about any other steps your dining facilities have taken to reduce waste (e.g., food waste auditing, recycling used cooking oil for biodiesel production): Please visit www.bc.edu/offices/dining/about/sustain.html to view practices
RECYCLING OF TRADITIONAL MATERIALS
33) Please indicate which traditional materials your dining facilities recycle (check all that apply).
[ ] None
[ X ] Aluminum
[ X ] Cardboard
[ X ] Glass
[ X ] Paper
[ X ] Plastics (all)
[ ] Plastics (some)
[ ] Other. Please list:
34) Are recycling receptacles located throughout dining locations?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please describe: receptacles for separation are located in operations that require direct customer participation. All dining unit dish rooms and kitchens are equipped with barrels for separation as well.
35) What is the dining services' current waste-diversion rate (the percentage of recyclable waste diverted from traditional disposal)?
[42.5 %]
AFFILIATIONS
Questions 36-37 are for informational purposes only; responses will NOT be included in the Report Card evaluation process.
36) Indicate if your dining services are:
[ ] Contracted. Please describe:
[ X ] School operated. Please describe: We are a self operated dining service reporting to the A.VP of Auxiliary Services
[ ] Other. Please describe:
37) Is the dining services director, or another dining services staff person, a member of any campus-wide environmental/sustainability initiatives or committees at your school?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please describe: Dining Services has been working with students to develop a more sustainable food system on campus as part of “Real Food BC”. See the Student Initiatives page by visiting www.bc.edu/offices/about/sustain.html. Associate Director of Operations works closely with Ecopledge and Law School Student Association to promote an awareness program of Dining Services recycling and sustainable initiatives with visual marketing aides.
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