<< Back to Report Card
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: Ted Mayer
Title: Harvard University Dining Services, Executive Director
Date survey submitted: July 23, 2009
1) Total annual food budget: $ 12,626,000
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:
Harvard’s dining services maximizes its potential for local purchasing by offering seasonal menus.
Depending on the season, 35 to 70 percent of produce provided in the dining hall is grown locally
(http://www.dining.harvard.edu/about_huds/sustainability.html).
Questions 3-5 pertain to locally grown purchases.
3) From how many local farms or growers do you purchase (excluding on-campus farms/gardens)?
Approximately 250 local farms, via the MA Pioneer Valley Growers Association (PVGA) and the
Southeastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership (SEMAP).
[ 1 ] Number from which you purchase directly. Ward’s Berry Farm; Sharon, MA.
[ (hundreds) ] Number from which you purchase through a distributor. Please specify name and location
of distributor: Costa Fruit & Produce; Boston, MA. Costa assists HUDS in maximizing local purchasing
from PVGA and SEMAP.
4) How much do you spend annually on purchasing food that was grown or raised locally?
$ 832,600
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):
Fruits and vegetables
Dairy products: milk, cheese, yogurt, cream, ice cream, etc.
Fish
Meat (occasionally)
Maple syrup (occasionally)
Poultry (occasionally)
Cage free eggs
Questions 6-8 pertain to locally produced and/or processed items.
6) From how many local processors do you purchase?
[ 15] Number from which you purchase directly.
[ 14] Number from which you purchase through a distributor. Please specify name and location of
distributor:
7) How much do you spend annually on purchasing food that was processed locally?
$ 2,151,000
8) Please list items you purchase that are processed locally (e.g., bread, granola, ice cream, baked
goods, yogurt, cheese):
Breads
Granola
Cider
Baked goods and desserts
Bagels
Dried fruit
Nuts
Pasta
Soups
Salsa
Cheese
Sodas
Spices
Cooking sauces
Pizza dough
Salad dressings
Pita chips, other snacks
Peanut butter
Pancake and waffle batter
Tofu
Soy milk
Sushi
Hors d’Oeuvres
Appetizers
9) Do you purchase milk from a local dairy?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please provide name of dairy and location: Hood; Lynnfield, MA. All milk served by HUDS
is produced on MA dairy farms.
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. Please describe and provide URL, if available: Information about HUDS’ sustainable
purchasing policies can be found here: http://www.dining.harvard.edu/about_huds/sustainability.html
13) Do you purchase organically grown or produced food?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please list items: Greens, oils, vinegars, cereals, legumes, beans, peanut butter tofu, granola,
pasta sauce, energy bars, chocolate bars, soda.
14) How much do you spend annually on organically grown or produced food?
$ 228,123
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).
[ 0.4%] Percentage cage-free eggs
[ %] Percentage confinement-free. Type of meat product: Shell eggs.
[ %] Percentage confinement-free. Type of meat product:
16) Do you purchase any grass-fed animal products?
[ X ] No
[ ] Yes. Please indicate (repeat for each product).
[ %] Grass-fed. Type of animal product:
[ %] Grass-fed. Type of animal product:
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: Milk, yogurt, cheese.
[ %] Percentage hormone- and antibiotic-free. Type of dairy product:
19) Do you purchase seafood that meets Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch guidelines or
Marine Stewardship Council standards?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please indicate.
[ 100% ] Percentage purchased that meets guidelines. Please list guidelines used: Monterey Bay
Aquarium Seafood Watch.
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: 33% of our
hot entrée dishes are vegetarian for both lunch & dinner. Approximately half of the vegetarian dishes are
vegan.
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: Approximately 50% of HUDS’ coffee purchases are certified fair trade.
[ ] 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: Tea, chocolate, snack bars,
other beverages.
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
Description (optional):
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: HUDS offers discounts to customers using reusable coffee mugs and water
bottles.
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.
- Proportion of dining facilities that run preconsumer compost programs. Twelve campus facilities
compost food waste – 11 of 13 residential dining halls, and 1 of 11 retail locations
[ ] Annual tonnage of compost (pre- and post-consumer combined): 26,500 pounds of waste weekly,
yielding approximately 583 tons annually
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.
[ ] Proportion of dining facilities that run postconsumer compost programs. Fourteen campus facilities
compost food waste. – 11 of 13 residential dining halls, and 3 of 11 retail locations. Tonnage is included
in preconsumer food scraps.
30) Do your dining facilities donate excess food to a food bank, soup kitchen, or shelter, etc.?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please describe: Excess food is donated to a homeless shelter in Harvard Square as well as
food banks throughout Boston.
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: Certain
residential houses sponsor trayless meals on specific days of the week.
[ ] 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): Biannual food waste audits;
recycling used cooking oil; maximizing efficiency of kitchen equipment and HUDS vehicles;
collaboration with academic classes to continually review operations.
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: Single-stream recycling receptacles are easily accessible throughout campus.
35) What is the dining services' current waste-diversion rate (the percentage of recyclable waste
diverted from traditional disposal)?
[ 59 %]
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:
[ ] 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: Theresa McCulla, Food Literacy Project Coordinator, sits on the steering
committee of the Resource Efficiency Program. Crista Martin, Director for Marketing &
Communications, and Jim De Zutter, Director for New Business Development, participate in the campuswide
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Planning working groups. Bob Leandro, Director for Facilities,
participates in the campus Green Loan Fund evaluations.
In addition, Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) participates in academic coursework, such as
serving as a real-world case study for “Environmental Science and Public Policy” in Harvard’s Center for
the Environment. Students are encouraged to consider a challenge or opportunity posed by HUDS and
offer workable solutions, many of which are implemented shortly thereafter.
We also have several programs that encourage staff and student engagement, including:
• The Food Literacy Project, which encourage awareness, engagement and behavior change with
regards to food issues;
• The Green Skillet program, which challenges staff, in unit-to-unit competition, to reduce utility
usage, conserve resources, and engage students in reducing use of these resources;
• And 2 farmers’ markets on campus, which run weekly on two different days (in different “quads”
on campus) from June through October.
<< Back to Report Card