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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: Bowen Patterson Close
Title: Assistant Director, Facilities and Campus Services – Sustainability / Director, Sustainability Integration Office
Date survey submitted: July 21, 2009
1) Total annual food budget: [$ 1.9 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.
*Note: We do not have a tracking mechanism for tracking local/organic purchases. These are low-end estimates based on our knowledge of purchases and total money spent.
2) Do you have any formal policies pertaining to local purchases?
[ ] No
[x] Yes. Please describe and provide URL, if available: Pomona’s dining services buy local whenever possible. Last year, 100% of produce available locally came from local family farms. This year, approximately 60% of all produce is purchased locally, because of rising food costs and budget cuts. Approximately 40% of baked goods, 80% of milk and ice cream, and 70% of meat/seafood/cheese/eggs is purchased locally.
Questions 3-5 pertain to locally grown purchases.
3) From how many local forms or growers do you purchase (excluding on-campus farms/gardens)?
[ 0 ] Number from which you purchase directly.
[ We purchase from a large number of local farms (too many to list), but approximately 25 of them are specifically local family farms that we specify as sustainable producers] Number from which you purchase through a distributor. Please specify name and location of distributor:
Freshpoint
155 North Orange Avenue
City of Industry, CA 91744
4) How much do you spend annually on purchasing food that was grown or raised locally?
[$ Approximately $357,000, based on percent of total produce purchase]
5) Please list foods you purchase that are grown or raised locally (e.g., fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, milk, fish, honey, maple syrup; foods that are processed locally should be listed in question 8):
Impossible to list all of them, but includes fresh fruits and vegetables (such as oranges, apples, salad bar vegetables, etc.), milk, fish.
Questions 6-8 pertain to locally produced and/or processed items.
6) From how many local processors do you purchase?
[ 0 ] Number from which you purchase directly.
[ Unknown ] Number from which you purchase through a distributor. Please specify name and location of distributor:
Through Freshpoint or Sysco.
7) How much do you spend annually on purchasing food that was processed locally?
[$ Approximately $566,468.40, based on percentage of total dairy and baked goods food purchases]
8) Please list items you purchase that are processed locally (e.g., bread, granola, ice cream, baked goods, yogurt, cheese):
Impossible to list all of them, but includes bread and other baked goods, ice cream, cheese, yogurt, other dairy products.
9) Do you purchase milk from a local dairy?
[ ] No
[ x ] Yes. Please provide name of dairy and location: Adohr Farms.
10) Do you source any food from an on-campus farm or garden?
[ x] No – but we are currently in talks to start providing food in the dining halls from our on-campus 2-acre farm.
[] Yes. Please describe source and amount:
11) Do you participate in a farm-to-school program?
[ x ] No
[ ] Yes. Please describe program:
ORGANIC AND SUSTAINABLY PRODUCED FOOD
12) Do you have any formal policies pertaining to the purchase of organic and/or sustainably produced food?
[x ] No
[ ] Yes. Please describe and provide URL, if available:
13) Do you purchase organically grown or produced food?
[ ] No
[ x ] Yes. Please list items: A variety of items including fruits and vegetables (fresh and packaged), breads, grocery items, and others.
14) How much do you spend annually on organically grown or produced food?
[$ Approximately $20,000, based on percentage of total food purchase]
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?
[ ] No
[x] Yes. Please indicate (repeat for each product).
[100%] Percentage hormone- and antibiotic-free. Type of meat: all 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 milk.
[ %] Percentage hormone- and antibiotic-free. Type of dairy product:
I do not currently have information about other dairy products.
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: Monetery 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: There are always a variety of options offered daily at each meal, estimated to be about 6 options at every lunch and dinner at at least 3 or 4 options at breakfast. There are always vegan options in the salad bar, grain bar, pizza bar, sandwich bar, cereal bar, and hot entrees. There are often vegan options in the soup bar, pasta bar, and daily exhibition.
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?
[ 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 – disposable for to-go only. All dine-in diningware is reusable.
25) If you offer disposables, please indicate materials used (check all that apply).
[ ] 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?
[x ] No – because the dining halls are a self-serve, buffet-only service, health codes do not permit people to use their own containers.
[ ] Yes. Please describe:
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.
[ 100 %] Proportion of dining facilities that run preconsumer compost programs.
[Estimated at over 27 tons via 3-day audit ] 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.?
[ ] No
[ x ] Yes. Please describe: All leftover food from lunch and dinner is donated to charitable organizations (shelters, food banks). This food is picked up and delivered by student volunteers after it is packaged and prepared by Dining Services staff. See http://pomona.edu/events/news/NewsItems/051509foodrescue.asp for more information.
31) Do your dining facilities have a trayless dining program?
[ ] No
[x, until now] Sometimes--on specific days, on certain occasions, or in specific locations. Please describe:
[x, starting summer 2009] Yes--standard practice. Please describe program including date started and, if available, data on reduced food waste or water consumption: We are no longer using trays, but it is a recent program and we do not yet have data.
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): Pomona’s dining facilities use continuous cooking methods (cooking food as needed instead of all at once) to reduce waste due to over-production. All used cooking oil is collected by a company that uses it to make biodiesel. The College also provides a late-night “snack” in the dining halls, which utilizes leftover food and supplies.
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: There are recycling containers alongside trash cans.
35) What is the dining services' current waste-diversion rate (the percentage of recyclable waste diverted from traditional disposal)?
[ %] Unknown. We are not able to measure this because all waste for the campus is handled together.
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: Sodexho.
[ ] 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: President’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability.
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