Purchasing Guidelines

Purchasing Guidelines for Institutional Purchasing
In 2007, the Sustainable Food Project received a SARE grant to write an expanded set of definitions for dining halls to use across the northeast. They were published in the summer of 2008, and are a great tool for institutions considering making the transition to sustainable purchasing. Read a pdf here.
From 2003 to 2008, the Yale Sustainable Food Project worked closely with Yale Dining to create a sustainable dining program at Yale. We piloted a test kitchen in Berkeley College that attracted national attention and left students clamoring for more; in 2007, the Sustainable Food Project oversaw the expansion of sustainable food into all twelve of Yale's dining halls, and, later that year, aided in the transition of Yale Dining to a self-operated organization. The YSFP no longer oversees purchasing, menu planning or recipe writing for Yale Dining; any questions about the current operation should be sent directly to the Dining staff.
Basic Guidelines:
Vegetables
First Tier (ranked in order of preference)
- Connecticut organic
- Connecticut ecologically-grown
- Regional organic
- Regional ecologically-grown
- Connecticut conventional (small-scale operation)
- Regional conventional (small-scale operation)
Second Tier (ranked in order of preference)
- Connecticut conventional (medium-scale operation)
- Regional conventional (medium-scale operation)
- U.S. organic (small-scale operation)
- Connecticut conventional (large-scale operation)
- Regional conventional (large-scale operation)
- U.S. ecologically-grown (small-scale operation)
Third Tier (ranked in order of preference)
- U.S. organic (medium/large-scale operation)
- North America organic
- U.S. ecologically-grown (medium/large-scale operation)
- International organic
- U.S. conventional (small-scale operation)
Fruit
First Tier (ranked in order of preference)
- Connecticut organic
- Connecticut IPM
- Regional Organic
- Regional IPM
- Connecticut conventional (small-scale operation)
- Regional conventional (small scale operation)
- Connecticut conventional (medium scale operation
Second Tier (ranked in order of preference)
- Regional conventional (medium scale operation)
- U.S. organic (small/medium scale operation)
- U.S. IMP (small/medium scale operation)
- Connecticut conventional (large-scale operation)
- U.S. organic (large-scale operation)
- U.S. IPM (large-scale operation)
- International organic
- U.S. Conventional
Meat and Poultry
First Tier (ranked in order of preference)
- Connecticut free-range/pasture-fed
- Connecticut organic
- Regional free-range/pasture-fed
- Regional organic
- Regional conventional (small-scale operation)
Second Tier (ranked in order of preference)
- U.S. free-range/pasture fed
- U.S. organic (small/medium scale operation)
- Conventional (small/medium-scale operation)
- U.S. organic (large-scale operation)
- U.S. conventional (large-scale operation)