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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: Claudia Frere
Title: Manager, Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability Office
Date survey submitted: July 21, 2009
1) Total annual food budget: [$10,634,023]
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:
Our standard practice is to purchase from local producers and growers whenever economically feasible. We take into consideration the trade and commerce of our region when making purchases. We want to continue to support local farms and develop relationships that are key in helping us develop and support a sustainable food system.
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. We purchase from local companies through a distributor so that the number of deliveries to our facilities is reduced.
[#50] Number from which you purchase through a distributor. Please specify name and location of distributor:
Charlie's Produce
Seattle, WA
Food Services of America
Kent, Washington
Unified Natural Foods
Auburn, Washington
Harbor Wholesale Grocery, Inc
Olympia, Washington
4) How much do you spend annually on purchasing food that was grown or raised locally?
[$676,937]
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):
Apples, pears, cherries, asparagus, mushrooms, rhubarb, onions, potatoes, root vegetables, berries, eggs, milk, flour.
Questions 6-8 pertain to locally produced and/or processed items.
6) From how many local processors do you purchase?
[#22] Number from which you purchase directly.
[#4 ] Number from which you purchase through a distributor. Please specify name and location of distributor:
Food Services of America: Kent, Washington
Tim’s Cascade Chips: Auburn, Washington
United Natural Foods: Auburn, Washington
Harbor Wholesale: Olympia, Washington
7) How much do you spend annually on purchasing food that was processed locally?
[$1,604,044 ]
8) Please list items you purchase that are processed locally (e.g., bread, granola, ice cream, baked goods, yogurt, cheese):
Cheese, butter, grab-and-go sandwiches, salads and soups, potato chips, tofu products, bakery products, coffee, potatoes, yogurt.
9) Do you purchase milk from a local dairy?
[ ] No
[x] Yes. Please provide name of dairy and location:
Darigold Farms; Seattle, Washington
10) Do you source any food from an on-campus farm or garden?
[ ] No
[x] Yes. Please describe source and amount:
Dining Services has an herb and vegetable garden, located on the patio outside one of our residence halls, with approximate annual yield of 200 lbs.
11) Do you participate in a farm-to-school program?
[x] No
[ ] Yes. Please describe program:
ORGANIC AND SUSTAINABLY PRODUCED FOOD
12) Do you have any formal policies pertaining to the purchase of organic and/or sustainably produced food?
[ ] No
[x] Yes. Please describe and provide URL, if available:
We enter into an agreement to purchase organic and sustainably produced foods whenever economically feasible and where customer demand (e.g., for sustainably purchased foods) drives purchasing.
13) Do you purchase organically grown or produced food?
[ ] No
[x] Yes. Please list items:
Organic Coffee
Soy Milk
Charlie’s, Merlino’s and Food Services of America Produce
Teas (Numi, Honest Tea)
Oregon Chai
Guayaki
Alternative Baking Cookies
Island Spring Organic Tofu
Essential Baking Organic Breads
Extensive convenience store line of organic bars, chips, cereals, crackers, frozen foods, cold case items, self stable groceries (do not need refrigeration) and organic beverages supplied by United Natural Foods, Harbor Wholesale and Food Services of America
14) How much do you spend annually on organically grown or produced food?
[$ 626,509]
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).
[98 %] Percentage cage-free eggs
[35% ] Percentage confinement-free. Type of meat product: Beef
16) Do you purchase any grass-fed animal products?
[ ] No
[x] Yes. Please indicate (repeat for each product).
[35%] Grass-fed. Type of animal product: Beef
17) Do you purchase hormone- and antibiotic-free meat?
[ ] No
[x] Yes. Please indicate (repeat for each product).
[35%] Percentage hormone- and antibiotic-free. Type of meat: USDA Certified, Natural Black Angus, antibiotic- and hormone-free beef.
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
19) Do you purchase seafood that meets Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch guidelines or Marine Stewardship Council standards?
[ ] No
[x] Yes. Please indicate.
[90%] Percentage purchased that meets guidelines. Please list guidelines used: Our seafood providers use the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Guide and are instructed not to provide us any seafood that is listed as ‘Avoid.’ Seafood products are purchased fresh, frozen and processed/breaded. Our preference is to purchase fish caught off the coasts of Oregon, Washington and Alaska, where our suppliers can verify our desire for catches that are ‘Best Choices’ or ‘Good Alternatives.’ Our main food service distributor and supplier of our seafood uses nine suppliers. Although we feel confident that the majority of our seafood complies with our desire for ‘Best’ or ‘Good,’ we cannot say with absolute certainty that we are at 100%.
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:
In our 36 food service operations, including express markets, we include daily offerings of vegan sandwiches, salads, soups, bakery products and plant-based protein entrées. It is impossible to specify the exact number of offerings, as menus change 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
[x] Some. Please describe: 22% of our coffee is certified as Fair Trade.
[ ] All
23) Do you purchase other Fair Trade Certified food products?
[ ] No
[x] Yes. Please indicate (repeat for each product).
Guayaki Yerba Mate [100 %] Percentage purchased that is Fair Trade Certified. Type of item: (beverage)
Dagoba Chocolate [100 %] Percentage purchased that is Fair Trade Certified. Type of item: (chocolate bars)
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).
[ ] Plastic or polystyrene
[x] Postconsumer recycled content
[x] Biodegradable/compostable
[x] Other
Description (optional): Our line of 100% compostable service ware is 98% complete.
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: Bring Your Own Mug program: customers who bring their own mugs receive a discount on drip coffee. This past year we sold a record 148,747 coffee drinks with the program.
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 and, if available, the combined annual tonnage composted.
[36 out of 36 food service operations] Proportion of dining facilities that run preconsumer compost programs.
[200 tons] Annual tonnage of preconsumer compost.
29) Do your dining facilities compost postconsumer food scraps?
[ ] No
[x] Yes. Please indicate the proportion of dining facilities that run postconsumer compost programs and, if available, the combined annual tonnage composted.
[36 out of 36 food service operations] Proportion of dining facilities that run postconsumer compost programs.
[340 tons] Annual tonnage of postconsumer compost.
(Our pre- and post-consumer compost collection is picked up at the same area. The total this past fiscal year, July 2008 through June 2009, was 540 tons.)
30) Do your dining facilities donate excess food to a food bank, soup kitchen, or shelter, etc.?
[ ] No
[x] Yes. Please describe: Local food banks and Food Lifeline are utilized for pickup of select food items.
31) Do your dining facilities have a trayless dining program?
[x] No. Our academic year dining program for students offers a la carte items, which means less waste is created (than in ‘all-you-care-to-eat’ facilities, which commonly use a trayless dining system).
[ ] Sometimes--on specific days, on certain occasions, or in specific locations. Please describe:
[ ] 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):
All of our cooking oil is collected and picked up by a local biodiesel company that produced and sells to the local community.
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)
[x] Other. Please list:
PVC wrap
E-media waste
34) Are recycling receptacles located throughout dining locations?
[ ] No
[x] Yes. Please describe:
We incorporate a three-bin system at all of our receptacle stations to sort and capture compostables, recyclables and solid waste.
35) What is the dining services' current waste-diversion rate (the percentage of recyclable waste diverted from traditional disposal)?
[59 %]
In our residence halls, our waste is collected and then picked up at loading dock areas that are shared by both Residential Services and Dining Services. The 59% diversion rate (determined by weight) is for Residential and Dining Services combined.
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: Dining Services is a division of the University of Washington Department of Housing and Food Services, which is entirely self sustaining. Housing and Food Services employs staff who operate our dining facilities, which consist of 36 food service operations, serving approximately 30,000 customers daily during the academic year.
[ ] 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: Housing and Food Services has a designated sustainability manager who is a member of the University of Washington’s Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee. Our marketing administrator serves on a campus-wide sustainability marketing committee, and the project manager for Dining Services consults for the local government and the National Recycling Coalition; he is also a member of the NACUFS Sustainability Guide Industry Research Committee.
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