Reaction to Food Purchasing Procedures

Reaction to Food Purchasing Video

The utilization of a prime vendor to supply 80% of the budget’s worth of food was shocking to me. This only leaves 20% of the budget to be spent elsewhere. With sustainability mentioned as a primary goal of the food service, this distribution surprises me because it leaves very little opportunity to purchase locally since of the 20% remaining, not all of it will be put towards locally sourced food. This distribution could be a reason why the locally sourced food has only grown from 21-23% over the past 2 years, despite the huge shift in locally sourced food within the consumer atmosphere. Likewise, the 80% initial distribution is awarded to a prime vendor once every 5 years, which limits the competition for the bids since companies are only allowed to bid for the contract twice per decade. With an annual contract, companies would have the ability to more fiercely compete for the approximately 6.4 Million dollar contract, which could drive the price down and thus create more room for spending on local foods. Similarly, the university could set a standard amount of the prime vendor contract to be locally sourced from the very beginning, which would address the issue of finding locally sourced food with the people who supply the majority of the food rather than scrambling to find local food with the remaining 20% of the budget.

It was also shocking to me that the new union south does 290% more business than the old union south. This shows how a new concept can impact a consumer’s decision, and I believe that the new union south serves as an opportunity for improving the impact of sustainably sourced food on the college campus market. With the increased traffic flow in Union South, the University could educate the consumers on the superior taste and environmental benefit by holding tastings that compare locally sourced foods with imported foods from other countries. They are doing a great

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