BEST PRACTICES FOR SUSTAINABLE FOOD PURCHASING AT MCGILL

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Georgia Carr
5 years ago
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1 BEST PRACTICES FOR SUSTAINABLE FOOD PURCHASING AT MCGILL

2 PROBLEM STATEMENT Concern over ecological impacts, economic stability, social conditions of agriculture Sustainability standards require sustainability information McGill has the potential to institutionalize sustainable food purchasing practices, but the existing system lacks the resources to develop a sustainable system alone.

3 PROBLEM ANALYSIS AT MCGILL Indicator Driving Forces Pressures State Impact Analysis Separation of campus food from farms (spatial and through supply chain) Industry focus on price, Busy actors, Lack of product information other than price, difficulty of defining food sustainability for McGill s context Uninformed decision makers (staff and students) Difficulty of measuring or improving impact of food sourcing

4 QUESTION How can information flow from farm to plate? Who can coordinate this process? How can McGill institutionalize sustainable food purchasing?

5 CONSIDERING STAKEHOLDERS Students (diners, residence councils, student clubs and initiatives) Administrators & Staff Mathieu Laperle (Director, Food and Hospitality Services) Bill Pageau (Contracts Administrator, Food and Dining Services) Oliver de Volpi (Executive Chef) Dennis Fortune (Sustainability Director, Office of Sustainability) Culinary team and serving staff Producers and Suppliers, Community partners

6 CASE STUDIES In order not to reinvent the wheel, we completed case studies of four peer universities UC Berkeley UMass Amherst U of Toronto Yale

7 SELECTED CASE STUDIES Forager Model (UMass Amherst, Yale) University creates staff position responsible for sustainable purchasing (research, sourcing, menu planning, sustainability policy) Yale: Single grant-funded position UMass Amherst: Several specialized staff members to enable informed decisionmaking

8 SELECTED CASE STUDIES Outsourcing Model (UC Berkeley, U of T) External organization is responsible for sustainable purchasing (research, sourcing, information flow to university purchasers and menu planners, sustainability definitions) UC Berkeley: Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) relays information to executive chefs via Chuck Davies (Associate Director for Residential Dining) U of T: Local Food Plus (LFP) relays information to unit managers of each eating facility

9 SELECTED CASE STUDIES: Advantages Disadvantages Forager Model (UMass Amherst, Yale) Control over sustainability definitions Maintains a relationship between Dining Services and farmers Large time and capital investment to obtain grants or create a salaried position Outsourcing Model (UC Berkeley, U of T) Smaller time and capital investment Gain expertise and knowledge of exterior organization Loss of capacity to create or modify existing sustainability definitions Degree of separation between Dining Services and farmers

10 MANAGEMENT PLAN: COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS Hire a McGill Food Sustainability Coordinator Coordinate local food research and purchasing Coordinate reporting, stakeholder engagement, and information flow Partner with Exterior Organization Provide link to local producers Assist in defining regional food sustainability criteria Distribution? Benefits of Partnership McGill gains expert knowledge and capacity Equiterre gains testing ground for program expansion and research capacity of student projects Connection of various system components

11 MANAGEMENT PLAN: COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS Suggested McGill Food Sustainability Coordinator Responsibilities Facilitate the flow and storage of information between stakeholders Facilitate growth of partnerships with Equiterre and corporate food providers Coordinate and incorporate student research projects Organize an annual community forum (suggested in February) Compile an annual report (suggested in August), including measuring and reporting on indicators Write funding proposals and grant applications Identify cost savings opportunities for local sourcing Perform administrative tasks

12 MANAGEMENT PLAN: COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS Partnership with Exterior Organization Assists in defining regional food sustainability criteria Provides knowledge of local producers and their products Develops relationships with farms that meet sustainability criteria Provides the connection between sustainable producers and McGill Food Services, supplying an inventory of available products and the ability to access them

13 TIMELINE

14 TIMELINE: NEXT STEPS November December 2009 Begin development of funding proposal for Food Sustainability Coordinator (FSC) Facilitate project recommendations through implementation of a multistakeholder group January February 2010 Develop job description, hiring process and criteria, and governance/oversight structure for FSC Submit funding proposal for FSC salary (May April 2011) and related costs to the Sustainability Projects Fund March 2010 Receive funding confirmation April 2010 Hiring process for Food Sustainability Coordinator

15 TIMELINE: YEAR ONE (MAY 2010 APRIL 2011) May August 2010 FSC collaborates with Equiterre and multistakeholder committee to agree upon sustainability definitions, develops pilot project for self operated cafeterias September 2010 Launch pilot project in self-operated residences in collaboration with Equiterre and a distributor like Hector Larivée or CanAm October 2010 Submit funding proposals for Year Two February 2011 Review pilot project March 2011 Renew FSC contract or begin hiring process

16 TIMELINE: YEAR TWO (MAY 2011 APRIL 2012) May - August 2011 evaluate second half of Year One Complete annual report for the period of May May 2011 Develop corporate food services pilot project and expansion model for self-operated cafeterias for implementation in September 2011 September 2010 Implement corporate food services pilot project and self-operated cafeterias expansion October 2010 Submit funding proposals for Year Three February 2011 Host campus wide forum regarding pilot project and future of food sustainability at McGill

17 TIMELINE

18 EXPECTED RESULTS Benefits for McGill and Equiterre McGill gains capacity to coordinate local sourcing Creates student applied research opportunities for undergraduates at McGill Equiterre gains testing ground for local distribution network Equiterre gains program capacity and access to additional grant funding opportunities McGill and Equiterre create a strong, flexible system which neither could accomplish alone

19 EXPECTED RESULTS (2) Strengthening Locally and Globally Diners on campus gain understand the impact of their food choices and its connection the local community Carbon footprint of McGill s food system is reduced McGill and Equiterre create an innovative model which can be used by other institutions in the region McGill and Equiterre help to increase regional capacity of local producers and suppliers

20 INDICATORS OF SUCCESS (1) Creating the System Criteria: Have clear definitions for "local," "organic," and "sustainable" food been agreed upon? Communication & Distribution: Has a system been created that relays information between McGill purchasers and local producers and facilitates distribution? Capacity & Partnership: Has FSC position been created? Has a partnership with an external organization been established? Is the partnership sustainably funded?

21 INDICATORS OF SUCCESS (2) Establishing clear goals: sustainable purchasing guidelines for fresh produce and non-processed food percentage targets for local purchasing are these guidelines and targets being used by self-operated and sub-contracted residences? Example: Have percentage targets for produce meeting Equiterre-McGill sustainability standards been achieved (20% by April 2013, 35% by April 2014, 50% by April 2015)?

22 NEXT STEPS Agreeing on a plan Developing relationship with outside organization Determine Food Sustainability Coordinator job description, hiring process and criteria, and governance/oversight structure (December-January) Submit funding application to Sustainability Projects Fund (January)

23 DISCUSSION Do we like the vision? Is this specific plan achievable? Does anything need to be revised? Do we have all the important stakeholders and decision-makers on board?

Lessons Learned from a CA Food Hub Network Pilot: Role of UC in Nurturing Success for Food Hubs in

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