Marketing Baseline Assessment

							                             Campus Food Baseline Assessment
Purpose and Instructions
This document will help get you started with the Real Food Calculator pilot process. It is a tool you can
use to approach your dining service provider to discuss information that you will need for the calculator.
This tool will also help you set up a framework for collecting data for the calculator.

Having a good working relationship with dining services on your campus is essential for a successful
calculator pilot. It is important to build trust with dining services, so get in contact with them as early as
possible to set up an introductory meeting before approaching them with the Baseline Assessment or the
full calculator. After this meeting, you can determine how to best move forward: was dining services
receptive to you and your goals for real food? Would they share information with you if you approached
them with the Real Food Calculator? NOTE: We are in the process of preparing a tipsheet on piloting
the calculator, which will be available on our website by November 2009. The tipsheet will have more in-
depth suggestions for working with dining services. In the meantime, contact Devon Ahearn with any
questions (dahearn@thefoodproject.org).

Once you have established a dining services contact, you can approach your contact with this assessment.
Tell your contact that you are interested in tracking food purchases on campus to get a better idea of
where your food comes from, who is prod ucing it, and how it is being produced. The Baseline
Assessment is the first step in this process because it lays out the information you will need to move
forward with the calculator. This is a great way to engage dining services with the Real Food Challenge’s
quantitative goal to increase real food on campuses across the country.

The majority of questions related to food served at your school can be answered with the help of a
representative from dining services. Some information, however, might require more research. For
instance, several questions in the assessment ask about campus sustainability efforts. You will be asked
to rank the importance of various factors in defining sustainability, a question that could be answered by a
representative from your campus’s office of sustainability or sustainability director. If your campus does
not have an office, program, or employee devoted to sustainability measures, you can answer these
questions by consulting with dining services, an environmental stud ies or sciences department, professors,
student groups, student government, etc.

After you have completed the Baseline Assessment to the best of your ability, send your results to Devon
Ahearn (dahearn@thefoodproject.org), a member of the Real Food Challenge’s national organizing team
who is tracking Real Food Calculator pilot projects. Your results should also guide your next steps in the
pilot process, like designing your research and tracking plan.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about the Baseline Assessment, do not hesitate to
contact Devon Ahearn at dahearn@thefoodproject.org or (617) 442-1322, ext. 16.
Campus Food Baseline Assessment                                                                      1



Campus (please list campus):

Your Contact Info:
       Name:
       Phone:
       Email:
     Position:

I. Management and Scope of Campus Dining Facilities & Pilot Site(s) Info:

a. How are dining facilities on your campus managed? (please check appropriate box)
                     Internally
                     Externally—Please list company:
                     Other—please explain:


b. How long have your dining facilities been operated in the fashion described in question (a)?
                   select

c. How many college- or university-operated dining facilities are located on your campus?
                   select

d. How many non-university-operated dining facilities are located on your campus?
                 select

e. How many university-operated cafes (smaller scale venues than dining halls/commons) and
   coffee carts are located on your campus?
                      Cafes: select
                      Coffee carts: select

f. Are you assessing your residential dining facilities’ total budget/sourcing or a specific site?
                     select
    *If you selected a specific site, please list in question (g)

g. Which campus dining site(s) will you be piloting with the RFC Calculator? (Please list below
     and attach additional site info if necessary.)

           Dining Site Name & Location:
                 Manager Contact Name:
Average number of meals served per week:
     Annual food expenditures at this site: $

           Dining Site Name & Location:
                 Manager Contact Name:
Average number of meals served per week:
     Annual food expenditures at this site: $
Campus Food Baseline Assessment                                                                     2
h. At present, who is the director(s) of your campus dining facilities operation?
                           Name(s):

                           Email(s):

                                       (please attach staff organizational chart if available)

II. Input to Dining & Purchasing

a. Please list your residential dining facilities’ approximate overall food expenditure last year
   (2007-2008)? $

b. Does dining services use a software program for menu planning and ordering? select

c. If “yes,” list the name of the software program used:
   If “no,” describe what process is used:

d. Please give an approximate description of how your food budget is tracked and broken down in
   print-outs, in terms of topics/categories (i.e. fresh fruits & vegetables, meats/poultry, diary,
   etc….):
Categories:          1.
                     2.
                     3
                     4.
                     5.
                     6.
                     7.
                     8.
                     9.
                     10.
                     11.
                     12.
                     14.
                     15.
                     16.
                     17.
                     18.
                     19.
                     20.

e. Do you purchase any certified organic products for your campus? select

f. Has your dining service provider defined an in- house standard for sourcing locally? select

g. If you answered “yes” to question (f) please describe your definition of local:

h. Of the produce purchased locally, does your dining facility work directly with farmers, or is there
   an outside organization (intermediary) that handles the business between farmer and dining
   services? Please list the direct purchasing businesses/cooperatives and/or intermediaries/brokers:
                       Direct Purchasing
                   Name:
Campus Food Baseline Assessment                                                                   3
               Name:
               Name:
               Attach additional names if necessary.

                      Intermediary/Broker(s)
                   Name:
                   Name:
                   Name:
                   Attach additional names if necessary.

                     Other—please explain:


i. Does your dining service operation source humane certified options? select

j. If you answered “yes” to question (i), please indicate what products and what percentage of them
   are sourced as such:
                   Meat,     %
                   Please indicate which meats have humane options:
                      Beef,    %
                     Chicken,       %
                     Pork,      %
                     Lamb,      %

                  Eggs (liquid and shell),    %

k. Does your dining facility participate in supporting fair trade products?
                 select
                 If so, what fair trade products do you purchase?


l. Does your bidding contract include questions about sustainability of the food or social
   responsibility of the companies?
                    select
                    If so, please explain:


m. Does your bidding contract give any preferences for companies that provide more sustainable,
   locally grown food?
                  select
                  If so please explain:


III. Understanding the Meal Plan System within your Residential Dining Facilities

a. Which style of serving does your dining hall(s)/commons use:
                  select

b. How many meals are served daily on campus during the academic year in dining?
Campus Food Baseline Assessment                                                                   4
               #       (Weekday)
                  #       (Weekend)

c. How many students currently have meal plans at your campus?
                #

d. Are first year students living on campus required to have a meal plan?
                   select

e. If yes, how many meals per week are they required to purchase?
                 #

f. Are students living on campus required to have a meal plan, regardless of their year?
                   select

g. If yes, in what capacity (i.e. how many meals per week are required)?
                    #


V. Sustainable Purchasing Que ry:

a. How interested is campus dining in sourcing more sustainably grown food?
                  select

b. How would your campus prioritize the topics below in defining sustainable purchasing?
   On a scale where “10” means that topic is essential to define sustainable purchasing at your campus
   and “1” means the topic is of little interest, please rate the following:
                 1. How far your food travels from where it is grown

                  2. How nutritious your food is

                  3. How safe your food is

                  4. The environmental impacts of your food

                  5. Whether it is certified organic or not

                  6. The influence of large corporations on food production and
                      marketing
                  7. The treatment of animals involved in the production of your
                      food
                  8. The wages or salaries of workers who grow, make or sell
                      your food
                  9. The working conditions of those who grow, make or sell
                      your food
                  10. Other (please list topic):


c. What do you believe are the greatest barriers to moving forward with sustainable food
   procurement in your campus dining services? (please identify your top five concerns and rate
Campus Food Baseline Assessment                                         5
  them—“1” being your top concern and “5” being your lowest)
                   Seasonal availability of foods              select
                   Finding regional growers who can
                                                               select
                support campus food needs
                   Volume and consistency of food supply       select
                   Coordinating purchasing and delivery        select
                   Getting farms or producers approved
                                                               select
                through food service provider, if applicable
                   Price of food                               select
                   Staff education of seasonality and
                                                               select
                   sustainable food options
                   Lack of student interest and support
                                                               select
                   from meal plan holders/customers

                                                               select
                   Lack of advisory support
                                                               select
                   Other: (please explain below)