Real-world examples of institutions putting values-based purchasing into practice.

Golden 1 Center, a stadium in downtown Sacramento, promotes its commitment to values-based purchasing on the Sustainability page of its website. The page states that the Golden 1 Center has a goal “[of] sourc[ing] 90 percent of [their] culinary ingredients from growers and producers operating within a 150-mile radius of Golden 1 Center.

Emory University highlights “Food & Dining” as a focus on its Sustainability Initiatives webpage. The “Food & Dining” page breaks down Emory’s completed milestones, including its Sustainability Guidelines for Food Purchasing, the Emory Farmers’ Market on campus, and entering into a partnership with The Conservation Fund to support local, next-generation producers, and the protection of significant land. The page also publishes Emory’s progress in local and sustainable food purchasing (42% of total purchasing in FY 2022).

Fenway Park promotes its commitment to values-based purchasing and sustainability in food on the “Fenway Greening” page of the stadium’s MLB profile. Stadium initiatives include Fenway Farms, a 5,000 square foot rooftop garden that produces an estimate 6,000 pounds of produce annually for use in the park’s food products. Fenway Park also announces its work with Aramark, its food service management company, to procure local and sustainable foods.

In the breakdown of what products qualify as “Sustainable Foods,” Lehigh’s guidelines specify that all products from “Women and BIPOC-Owned Businesses” are eligible if the business can show that it is officially certified as an Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Business, a Minority-Owned Business, or a Woman-Owned Small Business. The guidelines also provide that producers can qualify without official certification if they demonstrate adherence to the standards of one of those certifications.

“Direct: We prefer to purchase food directly from independently-owned growers, producers and manufacturers. We value knowing who grows our food and having direct relationships with them so that we can improve and learn together. We also prioritize purchasing food from women and/or minority owned businesses.”

In its “Measurement Standards” for food purchasing, Lehigh University lists what qualifies as “Sustainable Foods” and includes a designation for “Local and Community Based” foods. The breakdown of “Local and Community Based” foods includes farm size as one element in its definition of “single ingredient products.” The size standard states: 
“b. Size
i. Produce: Company, cooperative, or individual farms must gross $5 million/year or less 
ii. All other products: Company, cooperative, or individual farms must gross $50 million/year or less” 

“[T]he scale of production can contribute to a more vibrant and healthy farm economy and rural communities, and thus we prioritize small and medium farms over large farms.” 

“Duke Dining prefers to purchase food that is grown, raised, and/or processed within 250 miles or in the state of North Carolina in order to support local economies, especially small and mid-sized farms and companies, and to minimize transport, especially of fresh fruit and vegetables.”

“The FSMC shall comply with Sections 103 and 107 of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Act, 40 U.S.C. § 327-339, as supplemented by the Department of Labor regulations, 29 CFR, Part 5.”

“Fair: We prefer food that is grown in environments that treat their workers fairly and respectfully, comply with all labor laws, provide safe work environments, and do not employ slave labor. We prefer Fair Trade certified products over those that are not certified.”

In its “Measurement Standards” for food purchasing, Lehigh lists what qualifies as “Sustainable Foods” and includes a designation for “Fair Trade/Labor.” The guidelines specify eligibility for all products that are Equitable Food Initiative certified, Fair Trade certified (Fair Trade USA), Fair Trade Federation member, Farms unionized through FLOC (AFL-CIO), FUJ, PCUN, UFW, Food Justice certified (Agricultural Justice Project), or Worker-Driven Social Responsibility programs (Fair Food Program or Milk with Dignity). The guidelines also note that eligible multi-ingredient products with at least one of the primary ingredients (20% by volume) meet any of the certification criteria above.

“Duke Dining prefers to purchase food that is grown by businesses that treat their workers fairly, complying with all labor laws and providing safe work environments, and that do not employ slave labor.”