Overall Rating Platinum
Overall Score 85.50
Liaison Breeana Sylvas
Submission Date Feb. 28, 2022

STARS v2.2

University of California, Merced
OP-7: Food and Beverage Purchasing

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.04 / 6.00 Allajah Wheatley
Zero Waste Coordinator
Sustainability Department
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Percentage of total annual food and beverage expenditures on products that are sustainably or ethically produced:
8.90

Percentage of total annual food and beverage expenditures on plant-based foods:
16.70

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):
The campus captures usage reports from Sysco, general ledger data, and prime vendor velocity reports to support the development of sustainable purchases. The time frame spans from fiscal year 20-21. The University of California Office of the President (UCOP) established the Sustainable Practices Policy which includes a policy on sustainable food-services products.

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 No No
Student-run food/catering services No No
Franchises (e.g., regional or global brands) No No
Convenience stores No No
Vending services No No
Concessions No No

Total annual dining services budget for food and beverage products:
$500,000 - $999,999

Optional Fields

A brief description of the institution’s sustainable food and beverage purchasing program:
The campus does not have a formalized sustainable purchasing program. Dining Services purchases products from vendors that meet the sustainable criteria. Criteria examples include organic produce, and sourcing products from local vendors.

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:
The campus tracks its sustainable food purchases through specific vendors - who source sustainable items that meet the sustainability criteria. Along with this, a fellow from the Office of Sustainability was tasked with the project to analyze each individual item purchases from the university to determine its level of sustainability. A spreadsheet was created with each item, the information was retrieved from velocity reports, invoices, and annual spend ledgers.

Daylight Foods are certified to the USDA organic regulations standards by the California Certified Organic Farmers below are links to their certifications.
Certification:
https://daylightfoods.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/CCOF_Certificate_NOPWeb.pdf
Food Safety:
https://daylightfoods.com/food-safety/

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.