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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: Aaron Probst
Title: Food Service Director
Date survey submitted: July 10, 2009
1) Total annual food budget: [$1.2 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: Aramark Higher Education is committed to using local, organic, sustainably produced food wherever possible.
http://www.campusdish.com/en-US/CSS/Mercer/Sustainability/
Questions 3-5 pertain to locally grown purchases.
3) From how many local farms or growers do you purchase (excluding on-campus farms/gardens)?
[ # 0] Number from which you purchase directly.
[ # 3-5] Number from which you purchase through a distributor. Please specify name and location of distributor: Sysco - Atlanta
4) How much do you spend annually on purchasing food that was grown or raised locally?
[$50,000 est.]
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, vegetables
Questions 6-8 pertain to locally produced and/or processed items.
6) From how many local processors do you purchase?
[ # 0] Number from which you purchase directly.
[ # 1] Number from which you purchase through a distributor. Please specify name and location of distributor: Dairy Fresh – Cowarts, AL
7) How much do you spend annually on purchasing food that was processed locally?
[$10,000 est.]
8) Please list items you purchase that are processed locally (e.g., bread, granola, ice cream, baked goods, yogurt, cheese): Milk
9) Do you purchase milk from a local dairy?
[ ] No
[x] Yes. Please provide name of dairy and location: Dairy Fresh – Cowarts, AL
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: Aramark Higher Education is committed to using local, organic, sustainably produced food wherever possible.
http://www.campusdish.com/en-US/CSS/Mercer/Sustainability/
13) Do you purchase organically grown or produced food?
[x] No
[ ] Yes. Please list items:
14) How much do you spend annually on organically grown or produced food?
[$0]
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?
[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?
[x] No
[ ] Yes. Please indicate (repeat for each product).
[ %] Percentage hormone- and antibiotic-free. Type of dairy product:
[ %] 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. Farm Raised Catfish, Pacific Cod, Pollock, Pink Shrimp
[ %] 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?
[x] No
[ ] Yes. Please specify number of options and the frequency with which they are offered:
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: Java City – Rainforest French
[ ] All
23) Do you purchase other Fair Trade Certified food products?
[x] No
[ ] Yes. Please indicate (repeat for each product).
[ %] Percentage purchased that is Fair Trade Certified. Type of item:
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
[ ] 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: Beginning in the Fall Semester of 2009 – Individuals who purchase a meal plan will receive “Toby’s Refill Cup” as a benefit. The cup will allow students to take drinks out of the dining hall without the use of a disposable cup as well as entitle the user to a $.25 discount on retail beverage purchases.
27) Do your dining facilities use any polystyrene products (i.e., Styrofoam)?
[ ] No
[x] Yes. Please describe: At this time our take out trays and cups are constructed of polystyrene. There is currently not a local option to do the composting take out trays. I have contacted our local health department to research the options available to us to begin using the “reusable take out trays”.
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. 1 out of 2
[ 50 %] Proportion of dining facilities that run preconsumer compost programs.
[ 1 ton ] Annual tonnage of preconsumer compost.
29) Do your dining facilities compost postconsumer food scraps?
[x] No
[ ] 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.
[ ] Annual tonnage of postconsumer compost.
30) Do your dining facilities donate excess food to a food bank, soup kitchen, or shelter, etc.?
[x] No
[ ] Yes. Please describe:
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: During Earth Week in April 2009, dining halls went a week without trays. Additionally, we have begun “Trayless Tuesdays” trying to get more people comfortable with the practice.
[ ] 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):
RECYCLING OF TRADITIONAL MATERIALS
33) Please indicate which traditional materials your dining facilities recycle (check all that apply).
[ ] None
[ ] Aluminum
[x] Cardboard
[ ] Glass
[ ] Paper
[ ] Plastics (all)
[x] Plastics (some)
[ ] Other. Please list:
34) Are recycling receptacles located throughout dining locations?
[ ] No
[x] Yes. Please describe:
35) What is the dining services' current waste-diversion rate (the percentage of recyclable waste diverted from traditional disposal)?
[ 10%] The City of Macon and surrounding areas currently offer very little in the way of recycling collection. Students for Environmental Action, an on campus organization has been instrumental in trying to increase the amount of recyclable products we can divert.
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: Contracted by Aramark.
[ ] 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?
[x] No – We have worked with the campus group Students for Environmental Action to both raise awareness and improve Mercer’s “footprint”. We have been collecting produce scrap every Thursday to feed the Biology Departments Verma Compost Project. We partnered with SEA during Earth Week 2009 and held an information “trade show” in the dining hall. We encouraged contact between SEA and the local Coca-Cola distributor to increase the number of plastic recycling sites around campus. SEA as well as SGA, Campus Life and Auxiliary Services we’re instrumental in providing support for the “Toby’s Refill Cup” program
[ ] Yes. Please describe:
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