Sodexo Community

Sustainability:
University of Vermont

Since 2000, University Dining Services has put an emphasis on purchasing foods locally. Following the Vermont State definition for the advertisement of 'local' and 'native' products, the team has built many relationships and brings many local and native foods to the UVM community.

A Vermont Fresh logo was created to help communicate and represent all items that are sourced locally within the state of Vermont. It is used on dining collateral and at the point of sale.

WHO / WHAT? Dining Services works with Sodexo's prime vendors to source items locally wherever possible. In addition, purchases are also made directly from local and native vendors including:

• Booth Brothers - Milk
• Champlain Orchards - Apples
• Westminster Organic - Carrot & Root Crops
• Chittenden Farms - Cider
• Lewis Creek Farm - Carrots, Root Crops, Greens, Summer & Fall Produce
• Arethusa Farm - Lettuces & Carrots
• Longwind Farm - Greens, Root Crops
• Miskells - Tomatoes
• Pete's Greens - Salad Greens
• Vermont Herb & Salad - Herbs & Greens
• Vermont Butter & Cheese
• Cheese Company - Goat Cheese
• Grafton Farms - Cheddar Cheese
• Boucher Family - Blue Cheese
• Lazy Lady - Goat Cheese
• Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream
• Misty Knoll Farm - Chicken
• Peaslee Farm - Potatoes
• Klingers Bread Company - Breads
• Red Hen Bakery - Rolls
• Green Mountain Coffee Roasters - Coffee
• Speeder & Earl's - Coffee
• Singing Cedars Apiaries - Honey
• Highland Sugar Works - Maple Syrup

WHEN? All year long as available, some items are definitely seasonal

HOW MUCH? Currently 35% of all food is purchased from 38 Vermont companies and that percentage is increasing each year. 5% of total food purchased for the Fall of '06 was native in origin, up from 3% in the Fall of '05. The current goal for native purchases is 10%.

FROM WHOM? Black River Produce has cultivated good working relationships with over 60 growers and farms in Vermont. Their success lies in maintaining a close dialogue with local growers, keeping current on the latest developments in the fields and orchards so that their harvest can be delivered literally on the day it's gathered.

SPECIFIC CHALLENGES:
Matching Vermont's growing season with demand during the academic year. Currently, there is a lack of a central processing facility to freeze or can native / locally grown products.

Recent History of Sodexo's Achievements at UVM:

• November '04 - First Annual 'Taste of Vermont' dinner featuring Vermont grown products.
• March '05 - Vermont Farmers were invited to the first annual Farm-to-College Day to discuss the challenges and logistics of selling to UVM. Two months later one of the attending farms, Champlain Orchards obtained insurance necessary to sell to UVM and began delivering their apples to campus.
• November '05 - An internship position was established to assist in the transition to a more sustainable food purchasing model. Student intern duties include benchmarking local purchases, identifying local opportunities, researching comparable institutions and providing recommendations for future steps. The intern is also responsible of organizing gathered data for effective dissemination to the campus community.
• April '06 - Local food establishments participated in a Brand Fair to aid in determining local dining partners for the new Davis Center.
• August '06 - Sponsored and participated as guest chefs at the Vermont Fresh Network Forum at the Shelburne Coach barn. Became a Vermont Fresh Network Member for featuring local products on campus.
• '06-'07 Academic Year - Feature four different 'fests' to highlight local products; Applefest, Cheesefest, Farmfest, and Maplefest.
• Annual Taste of Vermont Dinner in Resident Dining Hall which features local Vermont products.

View the full summary of the sustainability efforts at the University of Vermont as a PDF document here.

View other university sustainability profiles as a PDF document here.