BU Dining Services prioritizes products that are grown, harvested, caught, raised, produced, or processed within 250 miles of campus. By sourcing locally, we are able to support the local food system and local economy, while also helping to preserve local farmland. We work directly with local farmers, ranchers, and processors. More than 16% of food we serve is locally sourced, see the map below to learn about our independent local producers.

Fair Trade Certified products are made according to rigorous social, environmental, and economic standards. Certification ensures that people growing, harvesting, and making Fair Trade Certified goods work in safe conditions, protect the environment, build sustainable livelihoods, and earn additional money to empower and uplift their communities. You can find a variety of Fair Trade products, such as chocolate, ice cream, across campus, including at Buick Street Market and City Conveneince.

When economically feasible, we support organic agriculture through the purchase of staples such as yogurt, oats, and soy milk, as well as produce when in season.

We purchase humanely raised products – certified by either Certified Humane or Global Animal Partnership – including whole chickens, chicken thighs, and turkey. We purchase beef, including ground beef, hamburgers, and hot dogs, that is grass-fed and humanely raised. Pork is gestation crate-free, and pork loin is locally raised. All of our eggs are cage-free. Humane certifications provide independent audits to help verify that the animal growth and slaughter facilities meet precise, objective standards for farm animal treatment.

As a coastal school set in a location with a deep fishing history, we promote stewarding the marine ecosystem locally and globally. More than 90% of the seafood we buy is certified as traceable, sustainably caught, or sustainably farmed. Our seafood is certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, Best Aquaculture Practices, and Gulf of Maine Research Institute.

• BU Dining purchases seafood with the sustainability of ocean ecosystems in mind. We use the Marine Stewardship Council and Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, to guide our purchases of wild seafood – these certifications consider how seafood was caught, where it was caught, and the species of seafood and the impacts on ocean ecosystems.
• Being in a coastal setting, we are also able to source responsibly harvested seafood from local waters, including the Gulf of Maine.
• In addition to sourcing sustainable seafood BU Dining has thoughtfully implemented practices to protect ocean life including the elimination of single-use plastic straws.