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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: Kristina Hopton-Jones
Title: Director of University Dining Service
Date survey submitted: June 18, 2009
1) Total annual food budget: [$ 5,950,000 ]
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:
Bama Dining managers are required to purchase locally grown foods first, as available, from the distributor.
http://www.campusdish.com/en-US/CSS/Alabama/Sustainability/LocalFood.htm
Bama Dining also purchases the majority of their produce from Adams Brothers, a local Alabama vendor.
http://www.adamsbrothers.com/Adams/
Questions 3-5 pertain to locally grown purchases.
3) From how many local forms or growers do you purchase (excluding on-campus farms/gardens)?
[ # ] Number from which you purchase directly.
[ # more than 4 ] Number from which you purchase through a distributor. Please specify name and location of distributor:
4) How much do you spend annually on purchasing food that was grown or raised locally?
[$ 38,000 ]
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): squash, whole ear corn, tomatoes, watermelons, milk, chicken
Questions 6-8 pertain to locally produced and/or processed items.
6) From how many local processors do you purchase?
[ # ] Number from which you purchase directly.
[ #2] 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?
[$ 400,000 ]
8) Please list items you purchase that are processed locally (e.g., bread, granola, ice cream, baked goods, yogurt, cheese):
Bread, nuts http://www.thenutshop.net/ , tea http://www.reddiamond.com/ , ice cream
9) Do you purchase milk from a local dairy?
[ ] No
[ X] Yes. Please provide name of dairy and location: Dairy Fresh, http://www.dairyfreshcorp.com/Home.aspx
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?
[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: sprouts, green peppers, lettuce, Aunt Annie’s, Amy’s Kitchen, Health Valley, Boca
14) How much do you spend annually on organically grown or produced food?
[$20,000 ]
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?
[ 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?
[ X ] No
[ ] 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: Every location on campus serves at least 2 specifically labeled vegan entrees daily
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
25) If you offer disposables, please indicate materials used (check all that apply).
[ X ] Plastic or polystyrene
[ X ] 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: We offer 50 cent refills on coffee and soft drinks when they bring in their Bama Dining mug
27) Do your dining facilities use any polystyrene products (i.e., Styrofoam)?
[ ] No
[X] Yes. Please describe: to-go containers for students who do not have the reusable to-go box. All UA residents receive a reusable to-go box in their room when they move in. When the student goes to the dining hall, they give the cashier their reusable container, and the cashier gives them a newly washed container to go with them. The student brings that container back in the next time, and they do the same thing.
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.
[ 75 %] Proportion of dining facilities that run preconsumer compost programs.
[ 102 ] 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: Bama Dining provides the whole meal and staff at the local soup kitchen for the Thanksgiving meal, they send food throughout the year (desserts, bread, can goods) to the soup kitchen also. Bama Dining donates $2,000 of canned food to the local food bank every October.
31) Do your dining facilities have a trayless dining program?
[ ] No
[ ] Sometimes--on specific days, on certain occasions, or in specific locations. Please describe:
[X] Yes--standard practice. Please describe program including date started and, if available, data on reduced food waste or water consumption:
Bama Dining introduced trayless dining in the spring semester of 2008. Savings outlined on Bama Dining website: http://www.campusdish.com/en-US/CSS/Alabama/Sustainability/TraylessDining.htm
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):
We recycle used cooking oil. Please see the UA Recycling reports: http://financialaffairs.ua.edu/admin/lss/recycle/recycling-reports/recycling-08-09.pdf
RECYCLING OF TRADITIONAL MATERIALS
33) Please indicate which traditional materials your dining facilities recycle (check all that apply).
[ ] None
[ X ] Aluminum
[ X ] Cardboard
[ ] Glass
[ X ] Paper
[X] Plastics (all)
[ ] Plastics (some)
[ ] Other. Please list:
34) Are recycling receptacles located throughout dining locations?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please describe: we have bins in all locations and on the back dock of all kitchens
35) What is the dining services' current waste-diversion rate (the percentage of recyclable waste diverted from traditional disposal)?
[ ? %]
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: 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?
[ ] No
[X] Yes. Please describe: Kristina in Dining, the UA Arboretum, and UA New College received a $5,000 grant to develop a business model for our compost, a long-term sustainability plan for the project, and a camp for teen girls who are interested in sustainable agriculture and environmental sciences. The promotion below was distributed by Alabama Congressman, Artur Davis (funding alert attached).
Alabama Dirt Program: Free program for middle school girls
• University Dining Services, in conjunction with New College, the Arboretum, and the Tuscaloosa County Children’s Policy Council, seeks to utilize food prep waste and grounds waste to create compost and to provide research, outreach, and learning activities for UA students and middle school students. Waste products will be captured and transported to a site at the Arboretum. Waste will be mixed into windrows and manually turned until the compost is mature. Community education and outreach projects developed by students, faculty, and staff will utilize the composting process and will inform the public about the uses of the compost created. The summer component for female, middle school students will be called Alabama DIRT: Directed Investigations and Research for Teens.
• Participants will conduct research and sustainable agriculture activities that: engage participants in learning and applying scientific knowledge; enable participants to design and implement experiments; expose participants to successful women; and inform participants of the various career fields and post-secondary education disciplines related to research environmentalism and sustainability.
• The program will: increase participant interest in the various career fields and post-secondary education disciplines related to environmentalism and sustainability and increase the number of participants who believe that women can successfully pursue careers in environmentalism and sustainability.
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