Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 53.82
Liaison Holli Fajack
Submission Date Jan. 29, 2021

STARS v2.2

California State University, Long Beach
OP-7: Food and Beverage Purchasing

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.18 / 6.00 Alfredo Macias
Director Residential Dining & Catering
Forty Niner Shops, Inc.
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Percentage of total annual food and beverage expenditures on products that are sustainably or ethically produced:
1.01

Percentage of total annual food and beverage expenditures on plant-based foods:
37.35

An inventory of food and beverage purchases that qualify as sustainably/ethically produced:
A brief description of the methodology used to conduct the inventory, including the timeframe and how representative samples accounted for seasonal variation (if applicable):
Due to the potential impact of COVID-19 on-campus operations during the 2019-20 school year, the food and beverage inventory was conducted using data from the August 2018-July 2019 academic year. Working closely with the university’s dining services provider, The Forty-Niner Shops, we requested itemized purchasing reports from this time period from contracted food vendors. Reports were obtained from three out of four food vendors. The Forty-Niner Shops no longer purchases product from the vendor who did not provide a report and their customer records had been purged from the vendor's systems for this reason. Purchases from this vendor did not, however, represent a significant percentage of overall food and beverage purchases during the reporting period.

The reports we obtained included all food and beverage purchases made for the campus dining halls, on-campus catering services, and Forty-Niner-owned dining outlets, excluding convenience stores.

Using the STARS food and beverage purchasing guidelines, each report was then analyzed to identify which products qualified as either “plant-based” or as “sustainably or ethically produced” products. All products that met either of these two criteria were compiled and categorized on the “STARS Food and Beverage Purchasing Inventory” template provided by AASHE. Total food and beverage expenditures in the reporting period were calculated by summing the total of each vendor purchasing report.

If reporting Real/Good Food Calculator results, provide:

Website URL where the institution’s validated Real/Good Food Calculator results are publicly posted:
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Which of the following food service providers are present on campus and included in the inventory/assessment?:
Present? Included?
Dining operations and catering services operated by the institution Yes Yes
Dining operations and catering services operated by a contractor Yes Yes
Student-run food/catering services Yes No
Franchises (e.g., regional or global brands) Yes No
Convenience stores Yes No
Vending services Yes No
Concessions Yes No

Total annual dining services budget for food and beverage products:
$1 million - $4.9 million

Optional Fields

A brief description of the institution’s sustainable food and beverage purchasing program:
The Forty-Niner Shops is part of the Real Food Challenge, a directive by the CSU Chancellor’s Office to achieve 20 percent Real Food by 2020.

The Forty-Niner Shops as an organization is also committed to protecting the environment. This committement is shared throughout their workforce and stems from a corporate-wide philosophy of incorporating environmentally-conscious practices in our daily operations. The Shops are committed to sourcing local, sustainable food and providing a wide variety of vegan and vegetarian food options for our campus community. More information about the Forty-Niner Shops' sustainability efforts at https://www.csulb.edu/49er-shops-at-the-beach/sustainability#:~:text=The%2049er%20Shops%20purchases%20products,Cage%20free%20eggs

Website URL where information about the food and beverage purchasing program is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Reporting Period: August 2018-July 2019

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.