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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: Mohsen Emami
Title: Resident District Manager, Sodexo
Name: Nancy Haaga
Title: Managing Director Campus Support Services, GW
Date survey submitted: 07/21/09
1) Total annual food budget: [$ 2.8 Million ]
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: Sodexo as a company has a
policy to purchase as many local foods as possible.
http://www.sodexousa.com/usen/citizenship/sustainability/foodservices/foodservices.asp
Questions 3-5 pertain to locally grown purchases.
3) From how many local farms or growers do you purchase (excluding on-campus
farms/gardens)?
[ 2 ] Number from which you purchase directly.
[ 20 ] Number from which you purchase through a distributor. Please specify name and
location of distributor: Our distributor is Keany Produce, which sources from many local
farms.
4) How much do you spend annually on purchasing food that was grown or raised
locally?
[$160,000]
5) Please list foods you purchase that are grown or raised locally (e.g., fresh fruits,
vegetables, meat, milk, fish, honey, maple syrup; foods that are processed locally
should be listed in question 8): We purchase many locally grown products. Depending
on the season, the products we procure include apples, mushrooms, corn, tomatoes,
watermelon, celery, and onions.
Questions 6-8 pertain to locally produced and/or processed items.
6) From how many local processors do you purchase?
[ 2 ] Number from which you purchase directly.
[ 0] Number from which you purchase through a distributor. Please specify name and
location of distributor: Asmars in Virginia and Bread & Chocolate in DC
7) How much do you spend annually on purchasing food that was processed locally?
[$ 150,000]
8) Please list items you purchase that are processed locally (e.g., bread, granola, ice
cream, baked goods, yogurt, cheese): Baked goods – pastries, muffins, cookies, cakes;
Mediterranean vegan foods – red pepper and plain hummus, tabouleh, vegan chicken and
tuna salad, pickled turnips, olives, couscous, baba ganoush, stuffed grape leaves
9) Do you purchase milk from a local dairy?
[ ] No
[X] Yes. Please provide name of dairy and location: Harrisonburg Dairy in Harrisonburg
PA
10) Do you source any food from an on-campus farm or garden?
[X] No
While we do not currently source food from an on-campus source, we are investing in a
community garden. The Food Justice Alliance is planting a community garden in Fall,
2009 which will grow vegetables as well as native and organic plants. The GroW
Commuinty Garden is a project of a newly formed student group, The Food Justice
Alliance. The group was founded in the spring semester of 2009 to “restore the
environment, promote community, build relationships, and pursue justice through food”.
The plans for the garden were generated in an Edible Landscapes class at GW. It will
feature a variety of aesthetically pleasing plants including edible, organic, and plants
native to the environment. The students are also working with Mount Vernon Estate to
grow plants that George Washington and Martha would have grown. There will also
eventually be a children’s garden box which will provide educational opportunities for
Foggy Bottom kids.
[ ] 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
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[X] Yes. Please describe and provide URL, if available: Buy organic or sustainable if
available and cost effective.
For Earth Day 2009, Sodexho, the students’ Food Justice Alliance, and the Office of
Sustainability hosted a mass “real food” cook out for the entire GW community. The goal
of the lunch was to promote awareness and enjoyment of food that is local, organic, fair
trade, and unprocessed. The event was well attended. The food for 300 people was
completely consumed.
13) Do you purchase organically grown or produced food?
[ ] No
[X] Yes. Please list items: pasta, produce, granola bars, and frozen entrees available for
purchase on campus
14) How much do you spend annually on organically grown or produced food?
[$250,000]
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?
[X] No
[ ] Yes. Please indicate (repeat for each product).
[ %] Percentage cage-free eggs
[ %] Percentage confinement-free. Type of meat product:
[ %] Percentage confinement-free. Type of meat product:
16) Do you purchase any grass-fed animal products?
[ ] No
[X] Yes. Please indicate (repeat for each product).
[ 100%] Grass-fed. Type of animal product: All of our cuts of inside round ground beef
come from cattle that are grass fed.
17) Do you purchase hormone- and antibiotic-free meat?
[X] No
[ ] Yes. Please indicate (repeat for each product).
[ %] Percentage hormone- and antibiotic-free. Type of meat:
[ %] Percentage hormone- and antibiotic-free. Type of meat:
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: All of the milk
we purchase from Harrisonburg Dairy is hormone & antibiotic free
19) Do you purchase seafood that meets Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch
guidelines or Marine Stewardship Council standards?
[X] No
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[ ] Yes. Please indicate.
[ %] Percentage purchased that meets guidelines. Please list guidelines used:
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: Numerous vegan options are available on a daily basis
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
[ ] Some. Please describe:
[X] All
23) Do you purchase other Fair Trade Certified food products?
[ ] No
[X] Yes. Please indicate (repeat for each product).
[70%] Percentage purchased that is Fair Trade Certified. Type of item: We purchase
Choice Brand Tea
[10%] Percentage purchased that is Fair Trade Certified. Type of item: We purchase fair
trade rice for bulk purchase
[40%] Percentage purchased that is Fair Trade Certified. Type of item: We offer Divine
brand fair trade chocolate
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
[X] Postconsumer recycled content
[X] Biodegradable/compostable
[ ] Other
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: We offer recycle mugs and discounted refills
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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 postconsumer
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.
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.
[50%] Proportion of dining facilities that run postconsumer compost programs.
30) Do your dining facilities donate excess food to a food bank, soup kitchen, or
shelter, etc.?
[ ] No
[X] Yes. Please describe: Every Friday we donate to the Capital Area Food Bank
31) Do your dining facilities have a trayless dining program?
[ ] No
[ X ] Sometimes--on specific days, on certain occasions, or in specific locations. Please
describe: Trays seldom used in main dining area
[ ] 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):
Boxes - 100% of our boxes are collected by the university and recycled for later use.
Oil - 100% of our used frying oil is recycled into high energy fat used in animal feeds or
into biofuel replacement for traditional fossil fuels in industrial environments.
We offer 100% Recycled Napkins & 100% Recyclable & Reusable Bags
Procurement - We are continuously trying to increase our procurement of local produce.
We work with the Keany Produce Company to source products from Virginia, Maryland,
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& Pennsylvania.
Ware Washing - We use a new sustainable ware washing program by Ecolab called
APEX, which minimizes water and energy consumption for dish washing operations.
The detergent used is a non-caustic, low phosphorus formula that uses 7 grams of plastic
packaging. Overall product packaging is minimized by 85%.
Product Delivery - We work with our distributors to decrease the number of product
deliveries per week, which decreases carbon emissions from transportation.
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
[ ] Plastics (all)
[X ] Plastics (some)
[ ] Other. Please list:
34) Are recycling receptacles located throughout dining locations?
[ ] No
[X] Yes. Please describe: Bottle, cans and paper recycling receptacles are located inside
all dining establishments and adjacent to trash cans. They are also located throughout the
GW campus so that students can recycle drink bottles they may have taken from the
dining facilities.
35) What is the dining services' current waste-diversion rate (the percentage of
recyclable waste diverted from traditional disposal)?
[ 25%]
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:
[X] Contracted. Please describe: GW’s campus dining operations are currently managed
by Sodexo.
[ ] School operated. Please describe:
[ ] 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?
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[ ] No
[X ] Yes. Please describe: GW Dining Services participates in a variety of sustainability
initiatives with oversight by GW Campus Support Services.
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