Tufts University
OP-6: Food and Beverage Purchasing

Sustainability has been a priority at Tufts Dining for 20 years. In 1995 with the renovation of our largest dining center, Dewick-MacPhie, it was established that both dining centers would feature organic whole grains and legumes exclusively on the vegetarian stations. Other organic items were sourced as well, including (local) oatmeal, tofu, granola, and peanut butter. The commitment to purchase locally grown food during fall semester began in 2002. Today, we purchase as much locally grown produce as is available from our produce distributor, Costa Fruit and Produce, and in the fall of 2015 we added local tomatoes and hand fruit from Red Tomato. We also are working closely with Roberts in Rhode Island (who distribute through Sysco Boston) for processed vegetables, directing them to acquire as much local vegetables as possible throughout the growing season. Although we are limited by the short New England growing season we maximize what we purchase by creating seasonal menus that highlight the produce which is grown locally. Tufts also sources organically grown produce during September and October from the Tufts New Entry Sustainable Farming Project. The NESFP, a non-profit organization affiliated with Tufts’ Friedman School of Nutrition, is devoted to providing the next generation of farmers with the skills to find land, reach consumers, and get the training to succeed. With regards to seafood, we began sourcing from Red's Best in September 2015 to feature locally fished seafood. We are mindful of our purchases, preferring to purchase fish from local waters that are deemed as acceptable based on government information and seafood guides. Tufts Dining purchases its milk from Garelick Farms (Dean Foods), which sources it locally from dairy farms in Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York. All of our yogurt is local, coming from Green Mountain Creamery and Stonyfield. We purchase local cheese from Cabot and a local cheddar through Paul Marks.

Tufts Dining receives annual reports from its purveyors, which track sustainable food and beverages based upon our definitions.

Additional information about Tufts' sustainable food and beverage purchasing efforts can be found at the following websites: http://dining.tufts.edu/sustainability/supporting-organic/ http://dining.tufts.edu/sustainability/fair-trade/ http://dining.tufts.edu/sustainability/think-global-buy-local/ Information in Excel sheet based on 2014 calendar year.