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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: Anthony Barbisan
Title: Director, YU-card and Food Services
Date survey submitted:
1) Total annual food budget: [$ Not available as food operations are contracted out through multiple offices of responsibility and to over 30 independent operators.]
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: All new Requests for Proposals issued by the University’s Food Services unit require proponents to provide a local purchase program where applicable.
With respect to dining halls and retail locations operated by Aramark, Aramark requires its suppliers to provide local produce when and where available. We are also currently developing an expanded local produce purchasing program in partnership with Aramark to increase the variety and amount of local produce within our operations. http://www.aramark.com/SocialResponsibility/Action/
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.
[ # Total number not available at this time ] Number from which you purchase through a distributor. Please specify name and location of distributor:
At this time we are unable to provide an exact number of local farms or growers from whom we purchase as this information is not available from all of our suppliers and distributors. However, our distributors and a number of our key suppliers that provide products through our distributors purchase and provide us with food and ingredients from local farms and growers and include: Sysco; A.J. Lanzarotta for produce (each of whom purchase from a network of up to 50 local farms), Canada Bread; Natrel / Agropur for dairy.
4) How much do you spend annually on purchasing food that was grown or raised locally?
[$ Information not available at this time ]
Currently not all of our suppliers / distributors track this value. We are working with them to develop tracking tools. Local produce purchases are being tracked for 4 locations (out of 40), with a current purchase value of $16,675 for non-franchise food purchases from Sept 2008 – May 2009.
5) Please list foods you purchase that are grown or raised locally (e.g., fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, milk, fish, honey, maple syrup; foods that are processed locally should be listed in question 8):
Local produce and beef, details unknown
Depending on the location (primarily dining halls and central cafeteria):
- All fluid milks & creams (provincially pooled)
- Fruits and Vegetables in season including: summer berries; apples; pears; peaches; nectarines; plums; asparagus; broccoli, cauliflower; lettuce; herbs; cucumbers* and tomatoes* and sweet peppers* (*can be year round through hot houses); root vegetables including potatoes, sweet potatoes; beets, rutabaga, parsnip, turnip etc.;
- Maple syrup
- Shell eggs
- Pork
- Beef
- Chicken
- Frozen potato products
Questions 6-8 pertain to locally produced and/or processed items.
6) From how many local processors do you purchase?
[ # 2+ ] Number from which you purchase directly.
[ # Information not available at this time ] Number from which you purchase through a distributor. Please specify name and location of distributor:
At this point this value is not being tracked by our distributor; however analysis processes are underway to improve our ability to track. We purchase a variety of locally processed foods through Sysco Toronto.
7) How much do you spend annually on purchasing food that was processed locally?
[$ Can’t determine value as it is not monitored by all our food service locations or suppliers/distributors. We are working with some of them to develop tracking tools and greater transparency around origin. ]
8) Please list items you purchase that are processed locally (e.g., bread, granola, ice cream, baked goods, yogurt, cheese):
Dairy products (cheese; ice cream; yogourt)
Bread and bakery products
Grains (e.g. bulgur; spelt)
Meat (beef, pork and chicken products)
Frozen potato products (grown and processed locally)
Majority of frozen vegetables (grown and processed locally)
Potato chips (potatoes grown and processed locally)
9) Do you purchase milk from a local dairy?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please provide name of dairy and location:
Sealtest (Agropur/Natrel) – the plant is in Toronto. Milk is pooled through the Ontario Milk Marketing Board from local dairy farmers across the province and then processed in a variety of plants across the province, including the plant in Toronto where we source our milk.
10) Do you source any food from an on-campus farm or garden?
[ X ] No
[ ] Yes. Please describe source and amount:
Produce from the Maloca Community Garden on campus is for personal consumption by participants.
11) Do you participate in a farm-to-school program?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please describe program: We are conducting a small pilot program with Coopers’s CSA Farm (www.coopersfarm.ca) a local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm. Participants in the program purchase a share from Cooper’s and receive a box of fresh produce delivered to campus on a weekly basis.
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:
However ARAMARK – the University’s primary foodservice contract provider - is developing a series of purchasing programs for locally and sustainably produced foods to increase their availability on campus including for organic produce; free run eggs; pasture raised meats, Local Food Plus certified produce and meats etc. http://www.aramark.com/SocialResponsibility/Action/
13) Do you purchase organically grown or produced food?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please list items: Most often for catering and special events – local organic produce such as organic spinach and mixed greens, as well as some specialty organic breads, local organic chicken and other items where requested may be purchased.
14) How much do you spend annually on organically grown or produced food?
[$ Cannot determine this value at this time as it is not being tracked – tracking tools are in development ]
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).
[ %] Percentage hormone- and antibiotic-free. Type of meat:
[ %] Percentage hormone- and antibiotic-free. Type of meat:
Some meat products we purchase are hormone and antibiotic free (e.g. % chicken products; % beef products; % pork products) – we are in the process of identifying specific skus and quantifying the amount of purchases.
18) Do you purchase hormone- and antibiotic-free dairy products?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please indicate (repeat for each product). All milk/dairy products in Canada are hormone and antibiotic free. In addition – rBGH is not permitted in Canada.
[ 100 %] Percentage hormone- and antibiotic-free. Type of dairy product: Milk
[ %] 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.
[ %] Percentage purchased that meets guidelines. Please list guidelines used:
Aramark Canada, the primary contract foodservice provider is currently partnering with SeaChoice Canada (a Canadian equivalent to Monterey Bay) and the Marine Stewardship Council in assessing our seafood purchases and developing sustainable seafood procurement programs and policies. Currently a number of our higher volume seafood purchases meet the SeaChoice standard for more sustainable seafood choices.
The total per cent of seafood purchased that meets these guidelines is still under assessment.
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: Weekly vegan options, daily vegetarian options identified in the residence dining halls. Vegan and vegetarian options are part of the regular menus at 10 additional retail locations on campus.
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: York University’s own brand “Las Nubes” fair-trade sustainable coffee sold at 8 locations on campus in partnership with our Faculty of Environmental Studies, the Fisher Fund for Neotropical Conservation, Timothy's World Coffee, the Tropical Science Centre and the local farmers' cooperative in Costa Rica. (Available at over 100 locations across Canada and online at www.timothys.ca.
Additional Fair Trade Certified coffees available at 6 locations on campus.
All new Requests for Proposals issued by the Food Services unit require the provision of at least one Fair Trade Certified coffee selection in non-franchise locations.
[ ] All
23) Do you purchase other Fair Trade Certified food products?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please indicate (repeat for each product). Rainforest Alliance certified teas offered at 5 locations.
[ Not available %] 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
[ X ] Biodegradable/compostable
[ ] Other
Description (optional): Various types of dishware used depending on the location and use.
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: Discount with travel mug. BPA-free travel mugs are available for purchase in dining halls and primary retail cafeterias for $5 which includes a free coffee/tea.
27) Do your dining facilities use any polystyrene products (i.e., Styrofoam)?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please describe: Some polystyrene take-out containers depending on the location and the food product served.
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.
[ ] Annual tonnage of preconsumer compost.
The university does compost pre-consumer food scraps campus-wide.
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.
Compost digesters have been placed at 22 exterior locations across campus. http://www.yorku.ca/csbo/documents/compost_digester_locations_map.pdf
[ %] Proportion of dining facilities that run postconsumer compost programs.
[ 12 tonnes ] 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?
[ X ] No
[ ] 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:
The University’s meal plans are ‘declining balance’ style, thus trayless dining is not applicable as a waste reduction method.
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):
- Cooking oil is recycled.
- Napkins in dining halls made from post-consumer non-chlorinated recycled materials, using single serve dispensers.
- Meal plan brochures distributed electronically to reduce paper use. Limited quantities are printed on FSC-certified paper at an FSC-certified supplier.
- Organic waste management and recycling audits conducted by students in Environmental Studies as part of an environmental auditing course.
- Collaborated with the University’s Institute for Research and Innovation in Sustainability to identify options to improve the sustainability of campus food operations.
- Kitchen equipment at the Glendon campus is being replaced in 2009 with more efficient units using natural gas instead of electricity.
- Requests for Proposals issued by the Food Services unit ask that proponents adhere to Canada Food Guide portion sizes.
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)
[ ] Other. Please list:
34) Are recycling receptacles located throughout dining locations?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please describe: “Blue bin” recycling receptacles for paper, glass, aluminum and plastics located at all dining locations.
35) What is the dining services' current waste-diversion rate (the percentage of recyclable waste diverted from traditional disposal)?
[ 52 %]
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 to over 30 different independent operators. Residence dining halls and certain key retail locations are operated 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?
[ ] No
[ X ] Yes. Please describe: Director of YU-card and Food Services participates in relevant subcommittees and student working groups of the President’s Sustainability Council.
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