University of Colorado Colorado Springs
OP-7: Food and Beverage Purchasing

UCCS Dining and Hospitality Services is working to increase the amount of local, organic, and certified food products. This is being done through working with local farm hubs as well as with the Procurement Services Center for the CU system. This involves examining spending thresholds, balancing costs, and reconciling availability. The goal as stated in the Sustainability Strategic Plan is to increase the amount of local and organic sources by several percentage points each year. Arkansas Valley organic Growers, AVOG supplies some of UCCS' eggs, meat, and produce. The university is still working with the Procurement Services Center to determine how best to procure local products and stay within the state purchasing rules and limitations. Below are some of the categories, the distributors, and the descriptions with regard to sustainability. Meat: Beef AspenRidge Farms - https://certifiedhumane.org/whos-certified/ Ranch Foods Direct - http://ranchfoodsdirect.com/ Restoring Beef Quality, Land Health and Rural Vitality. From our high quality grass pastures to our well-balanced natural finishing diets, Callicrate Cattle Co. is dedicated to providing the highest quality of life possible for our animals. Poultry - Red Bird Farms antibiotic free chicken. It's raised cage free and without hormones or steroids. The chickens are healthy, safe, and clean. http://www.redbirdfarms.com/healthy-chicken1/ Sustainable Seafood: Seattle Fish Company: The first in the Rocky Mountain region, we’re certified by the Marine Stewardship Council as an official “chain of custody” supplier of seafood guaranteed as sustainable from catch to cook. Sustainable Seafood - Sea to Table https://www.sea2table.com/our-mission/ Cheese - Seattle Fish Company - sources from Colorado - Goat Cheese. https://www.seattlefish.com/seafood-market/colorado-goat-cheese/ UCCS also uses LoCo Foods for sourcing Colorado items. The ways food reaches consumers can vary; what we have developed here at LoCo Foods is streamlined local sourcing – offering Colorado retail establishments an easy way to purchase from over 150 local brands that are grown and/or processed within Colorado, and Colorado brands an easy way to reach wholesale buyers in the state. https://www.locofooddistribution.com/

We obtained an inventory of all items used in dining services for FY17, identified the purchases that met the sustainable requirements, and performed the necessary calculations for FY 2017. Total Food and Beverage spend was $2,332,055. Total Certified or Local and Community Based was $146,533, which equals 6.3%.

$42,201 was spent on products from local chocolatiers and bakers that does not fully meet the "both local and community-based" criteria (counted as other Sustainability attributes). There is nearly $100,000 more of spend that has sustainability attributes like being located in Colorado. However the categories for STARS and the Real Food Calculator are in our opinion too stringent, especially for western states like Colorado. We would like to see definitions such as local - 250 miles, regional 400 miles (USDA) and be allotted points accordingly.