"Land and Food Systems, Faculty of"@en . "DSpace"@en . "Sustainability of the UBC Food System Project (UBCFSP) III : scenario 8"@en . "UBCV"@en . "University of British Columbia. Sustainability Office"@en . "Martin, Carla"@en . "Hui, Olivia"@en . "Walton, Stephanie"@en . "Andrews, Judith"@en . "LeBreton, Krystal"@en . "Scott, Cameron"@en . "2014-12-09T16:44:38Z"@en . "2004-03-31"@en . "UBC Food Services and the Alma Matter Society (AMS) are interested in the\r\ncosts and benefits of developing a sustainable food system, and whether the public will\r\nsupport these changes. It is of interest to identify UBC consumer perceptions of the price\r\nof food on campus, the economic costs and benefits of pursuing more sustainable food\r\npractices at Food Services, and potential consumer support for these changes, which may\r\nmanifest themselves in price changes. In preparing our recommendations, our value\r\nassumptions of weak anthropocentrism, ecocentrism, as well as a community-oriented\r\nview has guided our approach. We have chosen group 14\u00E2\u0080\u0099s model as our framework and\r\nbuilt on their existing vision. The stakeholders that will be affected by the information\r\nwe provided are: consumers at UBC, retail employees of UBC food service outlets, food\r\nvendors off campus, food distributors, and both local and global farm producers. Our\r\necological indicator is the availability of local foods. Co-operation with food distribution\r\ncompanies to trace products that are in high demand on campus is necessary.\r\nComparison to a list of BC food products that are produced in high quantity will\r\ndetermine if local foods are being used adequately. Our economic indicator is the\r\naffordability of nutritious food for individuals living on campus. Affordability will be\r\nmeasured using the Healthy Food Basket. Our social indicators consist of consumers\u00E2\u0080\u0099\r\nperceptions of current food prices at UBC, knowledge about sustainability and food\r\npractices on campus, and opportunity for participation in food practices, such as the UBC\r\nfarm. The consumers\u00E2\u0080\u0099 perceptions can be measured using surveys and focus groups. Our\r\nrecommendations include educating the UBC community on sustainability and the food\r\nsystem and collaborating with UBC food distributors to gain reliable information. Disclaimer: \u00E2\u0080\u009CUBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.\u00E2\u0080\u009D"@en . "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/51423?expand=metadata"@en . "UBC Social Ecological Economic Development Studies (SEEDS) Student Report Sustainability of the UBC Food System Project III Scenario 8- Perceptions of UBC Customers regarding the price of food at UBC Carla Martin, Olivia Hui, Stephanie Walton, Judith Andrews, Krystal LeBreton, Cameron Scott University of British Columbia AGSC 450 March 31, 2004 Disclaimer: \u00E2\u0080\u009CUBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report\u00E2\u0080\u009D. AGSCI 450 Sustainability of the UBC Food System Project III Scenario 8- Perceptions of UBC Customers regarding the price of food at UBC Group 3 Carla Martin Olivia Hui Stephanie Walton Judith Andrews Krystal LeBreton Cameron Scott Abstract UBC Food Se rvices and t he Alma Matt er Societ y (AMS ) are int er ested in the costs and bene fits of dev elopi ng a sust ain able foo d s ystem, and wh ether th e publi c will support these chan ges. It is of int erest to identif y UBC consum er per cepti ons of the price of food on campus , the economi c costs and ben efi ts of pursuing mor e sust a inable food practi ces at Food Servi ce s, and potential consum er support for these chan ge s, which ma y manifest themselves in p rice ch an ges. In prepa ring our recomm end ati ons, our value assum pti ons of weak ant hropocentrism , eco centri sm, as well as a comm un it y-orient ed view has guided our appr oach. We have chosen group 14\u00E2\u0080\u0099s model as our fr amework and buil t on their ex isting visi on. The stakeholders th at wil l be aff ected b y the information we provided are: consum ers at UBC, retail emplo ye e s of UBC food se rvic e outl ets, food vendors off campus , food dist ributors, and both local and global farm prod ucers. Ou r ecolo gical indicator is th e avail abil it y of local foo ds. Co -operati on with fo od distribut ion companies to trac e produ cts that are in hi gh dema nd on campus is necess ar y. Comparison to a list of BC food products that are produced in hi gh quanti ty will deter mi ne if local foods are bein g used adequat el y. Our economi c indi c ator is the afford abil it y of nutriti ous food for indi viduals livi ng on campus . Affo rdab il it y will be measured usi ng the Healthy Food Basket. Our social indicators consist of consumers\u00E2\u0080\u0099 percepti ons of curr ent fo od prices at UBC, knowl edge about sustainabil it y and food practi ces on campus , and opportuni t y for participa ti on in food practi ces, su ch as the UBC farm. The consumers\u00E2\u0080\u0099 perceptions can be measured using surveys and focus groups. Our recomm endati ons includ e educ ati ng the UBC co mm unit y on sust ainabili t y and th e food s ystem and coll aborati n g with UBC food distribut ors to gain reli able infor mation. Problem Definition: The Universit y of Britis h Col umbi a (UBC ) Food S ystem, in its current fo r m, is not sustainable. UBC fo od Services and the Alma Mater Societ y (AMS ) Food and Beve ra ge Services h ave reco gniz ed thi s and are no w wil li ng to move towar ds a more sust ainable s ystem. Ho w ever, before th at can hap pen, much more inform ati on is needed about the curr ent state of the system. Since UBC Food Servic es and the AMS operate as busi nesses, the y ar e ver y int erested in what the costs and benefits of dev elo ping a mor e sust ai nable food s ystem will be, and whether or not the publi c will support these chan ges. UBC Food Se rvices and t he AMS Food Servic es h ave ex pressed ex pli cit l y t heir int erest in identif yin g the percepti ons of UBC con sumers rega rdin g the pric e of food at UBC, the economi c costs and benefits of obtaini n g more sust ainable food pr acti ces at food services, and potent ial consum er support for these chan ges, which may manif est themselves in price ch an ges. We are prop osing a resea rch plan that wil l no t onl y provide in sight into possibl e costs , but also into how custom ers ma y possi bl y react t o these chan ges. If ther e is lit tl e int erest on the part of UBC custom ers in more sust ainable practi ces, th en the first pr iorit y of the UBC/AMS Food Servic es will be to increas e aw ar eness of sust ainabili t y iss ues. Value Assumptions: Our group membe rs all agr eed that we hold communi t y-orient ed views ins tead of indi vidualis ti c mentali ti es. We beli eve that in ord er for max im al sus tainabil it y to b e achieved, th e UBC comm unit y must be int e rdepe ndent. Furthe rmore, our v isi on emphasiz es the need fo r UBC food s ystem stakeh older invol vement, in ord er for chan ges to be widel y ac cepted an d effe cti ve. Chosen Model and Rationale: Group 14 conti nuall y em phasiz es the need to ex plore the inter acti ons betw een mul ti ple components of the UBC food s ystem wh en definin g sust ainabili t y. Whil e our group was en ga ging in a preli mi nar y brainst ormi n g sessi on on wh at sus tainabil it y means to us, we reco gniz ed the importance of all three as pects of sust ainabili t y: ec olog y, econom y, and comm unit y to be mutuall y ben efici al. By balan cin g the nee ds of all of these ar eas, ins tead of co mpromi sing one ar ea for max im um sust ainabili t y i n another area, ou r s ystem will opt im iz e overall sust ainabili ty. Group 14 is also car ef ul wit h conve yin g their messa ge of opti mal sust ainabili t y. For ex ampl e, the y report ed that a sustainable UBC would \u00E2\u0080\u009Cmake use of locally grown and seasonally available food\u00E2\u0080\u009D (Forb es et al. 2003). Thi s statement indicates that all food suppl ied to UBC does not have to be loc al in order to be sust ainable, impl yin g a respe ct for the div ers e cult ural prefe renc es on campus and the barrie rs of produ cin g all of UBC\u00E2\u0080\u0099s foods lo call y . Group 14 also noted that chan ge takes place ov er time b y ex plaining that UBC ma y lie on different poi nts alon g the sust ainabili t y conti nuum at differ ent tim es (Forb e s et al. 2003). Our group agrees that ch ange is flui d and we cann ot ex pect a sudden shift where all aspects of the food s ystem will switch to being equall y hi gh in sustainab il it y. In reali t y, sust ain abil it y will be achiev ed quicke r in some areas than others an d ex ternal factors will const antl y sh ift this process of ultim atel y rea ching a sust ainabl e UBC food s y stem . Our group also liked Group 14\u00E2\u0080\u0099s definition of sustainability because part of their visi on relates to our speci fic scen ario: a sust ainabl e UBC en cour a ges peopl e to be aw are of their conne cti on to the system (how and whe re food is produced) and fos ters in people an appre ciation of the eff ort required to gro w, har vest, process, and market their food (Forb es et al. 2003). Bot h of these messa ges will impact th e perc epti ons of UBC custom ers re gardin g the price of food. Adaptations to Group 14\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Model: In 2003 Group 14\u00E2\u0080\u0099s problem definition involved two components: their task and their desired final outcome. They assessed their task to be the \u00E2\u0080\u009Cneed to explore not onl y the individual components, but the myriad of interactions that take place between\u00E2\u0080\u009D the different components of UBC\u00E2\u0080\u0099s food system. They then concluded with what they hoped to achieve in their final project, \u00E2\u0080\u009Ca model that will enable future generations of students to study the sustainability of the UBC Food System as a whole\u00E2\u0080\u009D. As a group we found this problem definiti on to be an ex cell ent descriptio n of the whole issue. Grou p 14 showed that the y und erstood the concept of wo rkin g with and ex panding upon the resear ch conducted b y the previou s ye ars and ensurin g that their finished project was full y comprehensive and appli cable to nex t ye ars (ou r year) project goals. Group 14 did an ex cell en t job of connecti n g their i ndicators both ph ysic all y and mentall y. The selected ecologic al indicator b y gr oup 14 was an ass essm en t of food miles. The y put a value on the dist ance the food m ust travel, as well as the number of hands that the product go es through. The y add ress ed that as the proportion of food from local produce rs incr eases so does the ecolo gic al sus tainabil it y of the s ystem . This method of s ystem assessment all ows for acknowled gment of advanc ement and mot ivation for future improvements. Educati on and aw ar eness were chosen as so cial indi cators to assess sus tain abil it y. Group 14 e mphasiz ed that personal unde rstandin g as well as pe rsonal involvement in the local food s ystem is an important component of the food s ystem. Our gro up agrees with the basic idea; how ever we beli eve th at achievin g sust ainabili t y cannot onl y require comm unit y invol vemen t but rather provide real opportuni ti es for those wil li ng and improve awa reness for th ose who have limi ted kn owledge on the subject. Group 14\u00E2\u0080\u0099s economic indicator revolved around the affo rdabil it y of nutrit ious foods wit hin the comm unit y . The y ar gue that it should be wit hin the best interests of the local busi nesses to improve the healt h of the lo cal comm unit y be c ause the y themselves are pa rt of their comm unit y. Their indi c ator was well chosen to assess a mo re important area of economi c sust ainabili t y, rathe r than the more comm on indi cator of profit abil it y. P rofit abil it y is an essenti al component to an y busi ness w orkin g withi n a fr e e market. Thus it is an indi cator of economi c sust ainabili t y, which is gener all y sel f -r e gulated b y markets. One aspect that Group 14 missed was the importance of food price s reflecti n g the real cost of food, whi ch is, includi ng the envi r onmental and social rami ficati ons of gro wing, s ell ing, and con sumi ng that product. For ex ampl e, the real cost would represent farmin g practi ces, resour ces requir ed for proc essi ng, and distan ce to consu mer. Stakeholders: Group 3 reco gniz es th at there are a variet y of stak eholders that are con cern ed with the functi oning of the UBC Food S ystem. The ef fects of the UBC Food s ystem are not limi ted by th e campus bo undaries, as described b y Group 14, and we feel that the same principle appli es to st ake holders. On campus we must consi der the diffe re nt consumer groups who ar e purch asing the fo od at UBC: students, facult y, staff and vi sit ors are all potential custom ers. The retail emplo ye es and the repres entatives of UBC and AMS Food Servic es are all signi ficant stakeholders du e to their inherent con cern related to economi c viabili t y of th e system . Be yond UBC campus , we beli eve that sur rounding food vendors, those loc ated nearb y but not on campu s, would also have opini ons on the success of th e sys tem. The sust ainabili t y of the UBC Food S ystem would h av e some bea ring on th e success of off-campus food sourc es be c ause if custom ers are mo re inc li ned to eat o ff campus , it speaks to the viabili t y of the on campus food s ystem. Off campus food distribut or s of both lar ge and small scale are stak e holders in the food s yste m as well . Lar ge -scal e dist ributors will be empl o ye d b y the cam pus food service s and small er scal e dist ributors such as groc er y stores and produc e mark ets will cater to the indi vidual consum ers. Either wa y, providi n g the choice of bu yin g foo d staples as opposed to the read y m ade food th at is almost the sole opti on on campus , will ap peal to some consu mers. Groc eries b ear a lower ex pense burden and provid e the fr eedom to prepa re me als independentl y. Finall y, th e on-f arm prod ucers are also stak eholde rs in the UBC food s yste m. Both local and global pro ducers that supp l y food t o UBC wil l be conc erned with an y chan ges to the food s yste m. Specificall y, decisi on s to bu y local could impa ct the liveli hoods of man y farm ers. Ecological Indicators Group 14 proposed food miles as an indicator , and we have chosen to look at one aspect of Food Miles b y focusing on th e avail abil i t y of loc al foods. Our vi sion for the UBC Food S ystem is a shift towards max im iz ing the use of local food pro ducts . Before the AMS /UBC Food Ser vices are able to make ch anges towards a more sus tainable s ystem, the y ne ed a bett e r understandin g of the co sts and benefits of doin g so, which will include evaluatin g wh ether the potenti al ben efits of using mor e loc al foods will outweigh costs . As \u00E2\u0080\u009Clocal\u00E2\u0080\u009D can be defined in many ways, we will draw on the work of Norberg -Hodge and Gorelick who describe the \u00E2\u0080\u009Carchetype product of a local food system is fresh food raised on nearby farms and sold at farmers\u00E2\u0080\u0099 markets and independent shops\u00E2\u0080\u009D (Nor gbe r g-Hod ge and Goreli ck, 2002). In order to transfer this de finiti on so it wil l be appropriate for the UBC food system, we will use the term By emph asiz ing the use of local produ cts, the econom y would be strength ened because mon etar y funds are rec ycl ed ba ck int o the local food s ystem. As well , local food is usuall y fr esher and the refor e mo re nutrit ious (N orgb er g- Hod ge and Gore li ck, 2002). In a 1996 stud y, stud ents reported that food sold by the AMS was not fresh (Fa rrell Research Group Ltd, 199 6). Lo cal food us e could thus yield economi c ben efits for the AMS. Bu yi n g local produ cts is ofte n equated to pa yin g more mone y. From an ecolo gical and economi c point of view, local food s are less ex pensive in the long ru n as there are fewe r transport ati on, packa gin g and adv ertisi ng costs (Nor gbe r g - Hodge and Goreli ck, 2002). We real iz e that students are ver y price sensiti ve as reve ale d in the 1996 stud y done fo r the AMS and UBC Food Servic es b y the Farrell Rese arch Group. A 2001 stud y prep are d b y the AMS Impacts Comm it tee demons trated the diffi cult y in comparin g prices (La rianna, 2001 ). Whil e the use of organic as well as local produ cts would increas e sust ainab il it y of the UBC Food S ystem, a comparison of local o r ga nic products to glob al non -or ganic products does not ex plain the differ ence in p rices to UBC stakeholders . It would be in the stake holders\u00E2\u0080\u0099 best interest to focus on either local or organic, one at a time, in an att empt to establish which has the greater influen c e on price. We are recom mending that as a startin g point , the pri ce of loc al foods be com pared to the pri ce of non - local foods. There are man y di fficulti es in gath erin g pric e and place of origin info rmati on about agricult ural produ c ts. Prices shi ft as a result of chan ges in suppl y, gr owing condit ions and the weath er. Fo r instance, the pric e of green cabba ge in BC in one wee k in 2001 went from $42.0 0/case to $67.00/ cas e (Br own, 2001). Furth ermor e, the UBC suppl iers onl y ke ep infor mation about the place of origin and price of prod ucts for approx im atel y two mont hs. Bec ause info rmati on is discarded so rapidl y, it has been ve r y difficult for previous stu dies to collect informatio n over a lon g pe riod of time in order to compare loc al and non-lo cal prices. For UBC Foo d Services and AMS Foo d and Beve ra ge Services to d ev elop a more accu rate pict ure of loc al prices, it wou ld be necessa r y for thes e pric e s to be tracked ov er a lon ge r period. We recomm e nd that data be coll ected b y food distrib utors over a one year period and stored for next year\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Agricultura l Scienc es 45 0 class to evaluate. Th e co -oper ati on of the dist rib utor wil l also be requir ed, so price info rmati on on locall y produ ced foods could b e provi ded. It would be to the distributors\u00E2\u0080\u0099 benefit as well because the results of such a study could be returned to them for potential use in a marketi n g strate g y . In decidi n g what produ ct s to trace fo r the one year period, it would be nec e ssar y to consult with stakeh olders to establis h which pro ducts are in hi gh demand . Further cross reference with the \u00E2\u0080\u009CBC Foods: A Rainbow of Choices\u00E2\u0080\u009D handout produced by the BC Minist r y of Healt h would then be requir ed. Th is handout was produc ed to educate people about products th at are grown on lar ge scale wit hin BC so that shop pers ma y make choic es that result in the purchasin g of mor e BC goods. This wa y we will ensure that data gene rated wil l b e relev ant to the stakehol der, and that the re is loca l producti on that will all ow us to trace the price. It was estim ated that BC gro wers could produce th e quanti t y of food ne eded for UBC for six mont hs of the year with peak mont hs being Ma y th rou gh Septe mber (Brown, 2001). Whil e we reco gni z e that thi s time period does not coincide with pea k acad emi c terms, the summer months are UBC Catering\u00E2\u0080\u0099s peak months (UBC Food Ser vices, 2001). As we would like to have a model that can gro w and chan ge as condit ions chan ge (for ex ampl e, if there is a gre ater demand for loc al pro ducts, local producti on m a y in cre ase leading to mor e avail abl e local products), we su ggest an indi cator that look s at the amount of local food use d by the AMS and Food Services, compa red to th e potential amount of local food av a il able. Using thi s indi cator wil l provide informatio n on two levels: 1) P rices of local foods compared to non -loc al goods. 2) A measurem ent of the UBC Food S ystem in term s of sustainabil it y. Wit h the incre ase of local foods comes an i ncreas e of ecolo gical sus tainabil it y. Economic Indicator: As stated by Group 14, \u00E2\u0080\u009Ccommunity economics are determined by how we manage our households, both our individual and our collective community households\u00E2\u0080\u009D t h erefor e in orde r for the UBC Food S ystem as a whole to be economi c all y sust ainable, both producers and cons umers mus t be acti n g in a sustainable wa y. As we are awa re that AMS/UBC Food Servic e s are pro fitable, we can focus our att enti on on the consum ers to address indivi dual affo rd abil it y and economi c suff icienc y (UBC Food Se rvices, 2001). Our economi c indi c ator i s the afford abil it y of nutr it ious food for indi viduals livi ng on campus . To form a pi cture of the afford abil it y of food on campus , we will begin wit h a look at the re sidenc es. The student popul ati on makes up the majorit y of the UBC Comm unit y and is most affe cted b y food prices b ecause of their relativel y low monetar y resourc es (Bri ghten et al. , 2003). As well , as stud ents in the junior residen ces are obli ged to be on a meal plan, and therefor e eat about three meals a da y on campus , making them the best group for determ ini ng over all affo rdabil it y of food on campus . It i s important, however, to le arn more about the other groups tha t comprise the custom ers of the food establi shments on campus and we recomm end that in future yea rs, res ear ch be design ed to compil e information about these other groups. To assess our economi c indi cator we will use the Healt h y Food Bask et to evaluate the price of nutriti ous foo d in the UBC residen ces as compar ed to bu yin g of f campus . The healt h y food basket is an eff ecti ve tool to monit or food affor dabil it y be cause it has the capa cit y to identi f y lo cal diffe renc es in cost an d acc ess to healt h y food (Nathoo & Shovell er, 2003). This information wil l provide a basis in determini ng our social indicator that focuses on individual\u00E2\u0080\u0099s perceptions of price. If stu dents ar e found to have a negati ve per cepti on of pr ices, ye t we find that pric es are compar able to othe r outlets, then Food Servic es can us e thi s information to improve their image to students. The objecti ve of a nutrit ious food basket is to identif y fo ods that refle ct and address fou r fa ctors: the avera ge food pur chas e pa tt erns, nutrient requirem e nts, palatabil it y, and economi cs. The nutrient needs are met by adjust ing food group quanti ti es. Palatabil it y and consum er accept abil it y are add ressed b y usi n g foods that are comm onl y purch ased (D C, 2003). The costs of a healt h y food basket are kept low by including sale priced ite ms and by ex cludi ng ex pensive foods i.e. conv enience foods, take-out and restaur ant foods. Bec ause of th e ex clusi on of these more ex pensive t yp es of foods, the c ost of the nutr it ious food basket is gen e rall y low er than that whi ch would be purchased b y aver a ge Ca nadians. The foods inclu ded in the nutrit ious food basket ar e comprised of the fou r foo d groups of Canada Food Guide to He alt h y Eati n g plus other foods which consi st of fats and refined su gar prod ucts (DC, 2003). The Minist r y of Advanc e d Educati on of the Gov er nment of Britis h Col umbi a has determi ned a mont hl y living all owan ce fo r a sin gl e student livi ng aw a y fro m hom e. A max im um of $200 for food purchases h as been all ocated bas ed on the Heal th y Food Basket (Minist r y of Adv anced Edu cati on, 2004). (See Appendix I for food s included in the Healt h y Food Bask et ). Once a list of foods is de cided on from the Healt h y Food Basket , sim il ar fo ods will be chosen from the meal opt ions withi n the cafete rias. A table can be creat ed showing diff eren ces in pr ices. When compi li ng th e data it is important to keep in mind two main consi derati ons: 1) Bec ause Food Servic es are providi n g food fo r so man y people, the y are ab le to achieve economi es of sca le, meanin g their costs ar e less then if an indi vidual was shoppi ng for onl y on e pe rson. 2) UBC Food Se rvices prov ides an ex tra servic e to consum ers in that the food is alread y made. As this is a time saving devic e, it reduc es th e custom ers tim e cost, bu t wil l result in a price inc reas e. Social Indicators: Our socia l indicators consist of consumers\u00E2\u0080\u0099 perceptions of current food prices at UBC , knowled ge about s ustainabil it y and food pr acti ces on campus , and opportunit y for participati on in food pra c ti ces, such as the UBC farm . In order to me asure our social indi c ators, we propos e the use of a su rve y that wo uld be admi nist ered b y fu ture Agricultural Scienc e (A gsci) 450 students. (See Appendix II for su rve y). For the fi rst ye a r of su rve y use, we recomm end the focus to remain with UBC first and second yea r residenc es and ex pand the rese arch in the following ye ars. How eve r, the sur ve y was designed in a wa y that it could be used outs ide of the residenc es. If the re ar e enou gh people to admi nist er the surve ys, we su ggest ap pr oachin g people at all diff erent out lets and especi all y the Studen t Union Buil ding. This s urve y has questi ons re gar ding cur rent food prices, how mu ch the consum er knows about sust ainabili t y/food produ cti on/waste mana gement in UBC, an d whether or not the y wo uld agr ee to a certain % increas e in food pricin g if more sust ainable manne rs of food purchasin g were implem ented. Ther e are also qu esti ons addres sing aw aren ess around opportunit ies for gaini ng work ex perience at the UBC farm and other food -relat e d empl o yment. Surve ys s hould be deli vered ev er y few ye ar s to ensure that informati on sta ys cu rrent and to learn more detailed inf ormation rega rding the afor ementioned social indicators as ch an ge occurs. This wil l provide the stakeholders with a wa y of conti nuall y evalu ati ng cu r rent perc epti ons of the food s ys tem as well as identi f yi ng areas th at can possi bl y be pu rsued. Food secu rit y, an important component of the sus tainabil it y of the food s ys tem, is influenced b y the affo rda bil it y of food and the ac c essi bil it y of nut rition al, healt h y food (Cheng et al., 2003). Often, if food is purch ased from other countries, tr av eli ng man y food miles, costs are min im iz ed, especiall y if the food is purchased in lar ge amount s (Lobst ein, d ate unknown ). Howev er, up on furth er resea rch on our ecolo gic al indicators, certain foods ma y not b e more ex pensive if grown locall y. This surv e y will determi ne if people ar e will ing to acc ept price flu ctuations if food is produced in a mor e sust ainable fashion . The surve y will also aid in the understanding of consumer\u00E2\u0080\u0099s knowledge about where ou r food com es from and the compl ex process that occurs from farm to plate . Sustainabil it y knowled ge will also be of importance be cause if people are unawar e the environmental rep ercussi ons of food choic es, then ignoran ce will shap e cus tom er behavior. If th e surve y does show that sust ainabili t y knowled ge is lacking, recomm endati ons fo r more educ ati on will foll ow. A sust ainabili t y cours e could become a mandator y compon ent of all facult ies at UBC . Man y so cial scientis ts be li eve that preferences and motivations are subject to social forces (O\u00E2\u0080\u0099Hara and Stagl, 2002). Finall y, gau gin g the opp ortuni t y to parti cipate o n the UBC farm is valuable because it has been shown that connecting to one\u00E2\u0080\u0099s food supply increases concern for the environment, support for local farms, and eating of seasonal vegetables (O\u00E2\u0080\u0099Hara and S tagl, 2002). The data coll ected wil l show if ther e nee ds to be inc re ased awaren ess around the UBC fa rm an d increas ed adve rtisi ng of the potential volunt eer posi ti ons. Comm unit y supported agriculture (CS A) groups could evolve if there is en ough int er est amongst the UBC popula ti on. CSA is based on the mut ual comm it ment between a farm and a comm unit y of supp orters and membe rship has been shown to enh anc e social enthusiasm (O\u00E2\u0080\u0099Hara and Stagl, 2002). For the spe cific task of evaluating perc epti ons of UBC custom ers re ga rding the price of food at UBC, Group 3 feels that a surv e y is the best wa y to asce rta in a reali sti c viewpoint of the UBC po pulation surrounding thi s iss ue. Without direct in teracti on with people, \u00E2\u0080\u009Cperceptions\u00E2\u0080\u009D cannot be discovered. Within the residences, we also recommend the use of foc us groups. Focus groups wil l allow students to elaborate mor e on their feeli n gs about the food s ys tem and will be given more opportuni t y to be acti ve participants in their food s ystem. Recommendations and Timeline: Data that compa res the prices of loc al foods to non -local foods shoul d be coll ected b y food distrib uti on organiz ati ons over a one year period starti ng in April 2004 and stored for n ext year\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Agricultural Sciences 450 class to evaluate in March 2005. The following year\u00E2\u0080\u0099s 450 class can do a similar study looking at the prices of organic foods to non-or ganic foo ds to bett er understand th e costs associated with a more sust ainable food. The Healt h y Food Basket comparison can be gin in reside nces for the first 2 years and afte r can also be appli ed to other members of the UBC co mm unit y that live on campus . Becaus e of the time and man -po wer required to distribut e and coll ect surve ys, we re commend that next year\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Agsci 450 class focus on the students living in first and second ye ar resi dence as their populati on target. In futur e ye ars, resear ch can be designed to compi le info rmati on about the other comm unit y memb ers on campus . Surve ys shou ld be deli ve red eve r y fe w yea rs to en sure that information sta ys cu rrent, to learn more about student percepti on, and to k eep a record of how these per c epti ons ma y chan ge ov er time. Recommendations: \u00EF\u0082\u00B7 Have an agre ement with the UBC Dist ributors to have pref er enc e for loc al foods when readil y avail able as a starti ng point (if data is favorable for loc al food s). \u00EF\u0082\u00B7 S hare the result s of the Food Basket comparison t o make students more aw are of th eir place in the food s ystem and to increas e underst an ding of the costs invol ved with Food Servic es on campu s \u00EF\u0082\u00B7 S upport communi t y-orie nted projects such as th e student run Ago ra, the Food Co -Op, and the U BC Farm. \u00EF\u0082\u00B7 Advertise the opportuni ti es avail able for students to participate in sust ainab il it y measures, fo r ex ampl e the compos ti ng pro gram an d the UBC Farm \u00EF\u0082\u00B7 Make a sust ainabili t y co urse a mand ator y compo nen t of all facult ies at UBC Appendix I Items includ ed in the Healt h y Food Basket Milk and Dair y 2% milk, fruit -flavoured yo gurt, medium ch eddar cheese, proc essed ch edda r chees e sli ces, partl y skim moz z arell a che ese, vanil la ice cream; Meat and alt e rnati ves round steak, stewin g be ef , re gular grou nd bee f, por k loi n chops, chicken le gs (no back), sli ced cooked ham, froz e n fish fil lets (cod, haddoc k, sole, Boston blue fish or Alaskan poll ock dependin g on av ail abil it y), canned pink s alm on, canned fl aked li ght water pa cked tuna, lar ge eggs \u00E2\u0080\u0094 on e do z en, canned bak ed be ans in tom ato sauce, dried na v y be ans, white pea be ans, peanut butt er; Grains white bread, whole whe a t bread, hot do g/ hambur ge r buns, all -purpos e flo ur, whole wheat flour, dr y maca ron i or spagh ett i , long gr ain whit e rice, ma caroni and cheese dinner, re gula r cookin g oatm eal, salt ed soda crack ers, social tea cookies, C orn Flakes\u00C2\u00AE and Shreddies\u00C2\u00AE cere al; Fruit and Ve getables oran ges, canned unsw eet ened apple juic e, froz en oran ge jui ce conc entrate, tom a toes, canned whol e tom atoes, tomato juice, potatoes, fro z en French fried potato es , pears, gr een gr apes, canned fruit cock tail, bananas, Ma cint osh apples, Sult ana raisi ns, ic eber g (h ead) lettuce, romaine lettuc e, froz en mix ed vegetables, canned corn, canned pe as , broccoli , ca bba ge, ca rrots, cel er y, field cucumbe r, onions, green pepp er, rut aba gas; Other Foods Mar garine, butt e r, canola oil , ma yonnaise -t yp e sal ad dressi n g, white su ga r, strawber r y jam. Appendix II Designing the Research Tools: Surveys and Questionnaires S urve ys and Questi onnai res can be used as import ant tools for gaini ng rese arch information on certain to pics that relate dir ectl y to social iss ues in which vocali z ati on from the gene ral publ ic will be of some rese arch value. Upon takin g a closer look at the information s ecti on on the UBC Libr ar y Webpa ge one can peruse a variet y of differ ent sources outli ning prop er surve y techniques and the theor y behind usin g sur ve ys in gen eral. Man y useful ins ights can be obtained fro m this inf ormation. When dist ributi ng surve ys, it is important to inform respondents about wh y a surve y is happenin g and what one hopes to obtain from the result s. In gen eral one should not ex pect too much from people. When designi ng a su rve y it is important to out li ne the man y aspects of an ef fect ive surve y. One must det ermine the objecti ve, acti on orientati on, the order of questi ons, and the len gth of the surve y and the typ e of questi ons. The surve y shoul d be no longer th an 18 minutes. Short surve ys are i mport ant for two main reasons: bec ause pe ople become impatient and because of respond ent fati gu e. The altered state of mind resulting from a long survey experience may change a respondent\u00E2\u0080\u0099s int erest level in the surve y and repli es to questi ons ma y suf fer for it. The research itself has to be timel y in ord er to get accur ate percepti o ns on specific topics. It i s important to select sampl e groups that well repr esent the popul ati on that will be studi ed. In addit ion to thi s concept it is important to match the wording of questi ons to the conce pts being measured and the popula ti ons being studi ed. In an y surve y or questi on naire the best qu esti ons are open - ended qu esti ons. These t ypes of qu esti ons give the respondent the freedom to repl y as the y wish and are thus able to address an y i ssue that conce rns them. A good wa y to pose que sti ons is to all ow the respondent to rate issues of con cern on a number sc ale and then place an op en -ended questi on immediatel y after th e rati n g secti o n. One might find that re spond ents rate several options as \u00E2\u0080\u009Clow\u00E2\u0080\u009D but responses to open ended questions could be commonly domi nated by stron g opi nions on onl y one of the opti ons. This would give a good id ea of the point of strongest con cern. Focus groups: As part of our comm unit y ass essm ent plan we dec ided that along with a sur ve y of the local community members\u00E2\u0080\u0099 understanding of the food system and food pricing, we also recomm end conduct ing focus groups, which represent spe cific areas of the permanent communi t y. Wit h these focus gro ups we hope to assess the per manent UBC community members\u00E2\u0080\u0099 understanding of the food system and pricing as well as their acc eptanc e of the pricin g. We also hoped to make an indi rect assessm ent o f the local food quali t y and healt h of the comm unit y, as it pe rtains to healt h. Appendix III Ags ci 450 Percepti ons of Price Surv e y *OE: Open end ed Quest ion 1. Do you live in residenc e 1a. If yes, which one? 2. How often do you eat on campus ? (OE) 3. Approx im atel y ho w muc h mone y do you sp end on food/week (OE)? 4. If you had a choice betw een purch asin g a me al plan and not purch asing on e, would you stil l purchase one? Yes No Wh y? _________________________________ 5. W ould you describe UBC food as: High Qu ali t y Medium Quali t y Low Quali t y 6. Do you find the food at UBC to be ex pensive in relation to its quali t y? Yes No Wh y? _________________________________ 7. Would you pay more for \u00E2\u0080\u009Cbrand name\u00E2\u0080\u009D food products (Subway, Bread Garden etc.) Yes No Wh y? _________________________________ 8. If an outl et was situated at a more con v enient loc ati on would you pa y mor e for food there? Yes No Wh y? __________________________________ 9. W ould you support a discount for brin gin g your own utensil s and container s? Yes No Wh y? ___________________________________ 10. Would you support more locall y produc ed fo od if it were the sam e pri ce as food broug ht in from elsewhe r e? Yes No Wh y? ___________________________________ 11.W ould you pa y MORE for locall y produ ced fo od because it uses less fo ssi l fuel (for transpo rt), requi res l ess packa gin g and suppo rts the local econom y Yes No Wh y? _____________________________________ 12. If a loc al food was the same price as another ex ported food, would you pur chase the local food ove r the ex ported? (given that bot h food items were h ypotheti call y of the same siz e, same qu ali t y, same freshn ess) Yes No Wh y? ____________________________________ 13. W ould you be will ing to pay mor e for food that is purchased in a more sust ainable manner? Yes No Wh y? _____________________________________ 14. Define sust ainabi li t y_________________ ________________________________ 15. Name a sust ainabili t y ini ti ati ve of UBC Food Services or AMS Fo od and Beve ra ge Services_____ _________________________________________________ 16. Are you awar e of the UBC Farm? Ha ve you ev er been th ere?References: B.C. Ministry of Health Handout \u00E2\u0080\u009CBC Foods: A Rainbow of Choices.\u00E2\u0080\u009D Bri ghten et al. (2003) Group 9 \u00E2\u0080\u0093 The UBC Food Sys tem: Indic ators in the measurement of sust ainabili t y \u00E2\u0080\u0093 The su stainabil it y of UBC Food S ystem Coll abora ti ve Pr oject II. Unpublis hed paper, Univ ersit y of Britis h Col umbia Agricult ural Scien ces 4 50 course, April 2003. Brown, Larianna \u00E2\u0080\u009CBuying More Local and Organic Food: Predicting the Costs and Benefits for the Alma Mater Society Food Services.\u00E2\u0080\u009D Prepared fo r the Al ma Mater Societ y Impa cts Comm it tee 2001. Cheng et al., (2003). Gro up 19 - Identi f yin g Sustainabil it y: Th e UBC Mode l Food S ystem Ex ampl e. Unpublis hed paper, Unive rsit y of Briti sh Colum bia Agricult ural Sciences 450 course, Ap ril 2003. Dieti ti ans of Canada & C omm unit y Nutrit ioni sts Council of BC (Octobe r 2003). The Cost of Eati ng in BC . Retrieved Ma rch 11, 2004 from the World Wide Wed: htt p:/ /www.dietit ians.ca/new s/downl oads/cost of eati ng in BC 2003.pdf Food Servic es and AMS Surve ys. (1996). UBC Food Services A Surve y of Food on Campus . Farr ell Resear c h Group Ltd. Vancouv er: BC. Forbes et al. (2003). Gro up 14 \u00E2\u0080\u0093 The sust ainabili ty of UBC Food S ystem Coll abor ati ve Project II. Unpublis hed paper, Unive rsit y of Briti sh Colum bia Agricult ural Sciences 450 course, Ap ril 2003 Lobst ein, Tim. Measu ring Food b y the Mile. Retri eved Mar ch 20, 2004 fro m the World Wide Web: htt p:// www.mcspot li ght.or g/m edia/re ports/foodmil es.ht ml MacNair, E. (2004). A baseline assessment of food security in British Columbia\u00E2\u0080\u0099s C apit al Region . Retrieve d from the World Wide Web: http:/ /www.webct.ubc.c a /S C R IP T/a gsc 450/s c ripts/ serve home Minist r y of Advan ced Ed ucati on, Government o f Britis h Col umbi a (2004) Mont hl y Livi n g Allowanc es for Britis h Col umbi a . Retrieved March 18, 2004 from the World Wide Web: htt p:/ /www.aved.gov.b c. ca/st udentservic es/s tudent/appl y/how_much/mod_ sol.ht m Nathoo, T. & Shovell e r, J . (2003) Do healt h y foo d baskets assess food s e c urit y? Chronic Diseases in Canad a. Vol 24 65-69. Retrieved Ma rch 18, 2004 from the W orld Wide Web: htt p:/ /www.hc-sc.gc.ca/pphb -d gspsp/ publi ca t/ cdic -mcc/24 -2/c_ e.htm l Norgber g - Hodge, H. and Gorelick, S. \u00E2\u0080\u009CBringing the Food Economy Home\u00E2\u0080\u009D, originally publi shed September 200 2 in The Ecolo gist as \u00E2\u0080\u009CThink Global\u00E2\u0080\u00A6Eat Local\u00E2\u0080\u009D htt p:/ /www.isec.org.uk/ a rticles/bringin g.htm l O\u00E2\u0080\u0099Hara S.U., Stagl S. (2 002). Endogenous Pref er ences a nd Sustainabl e Developm ent. Journal of Socio -Economi cs, (31): 511 -527. Rojas, A. & Wagner, J. (2004). The Sustainabil it y of the UBC Food S yste m - Coll aborati ve Project III. Agricultural Scienc es 4 50 Class Handout. Unive rsit y of Britis h Col umbi a. Vanco uver: BC. UBC Food Se rvices Five -Yea r Business Plan -200 2. (2001). Retrieved fro m the World WideW eb March 10, 2004 htt p:/ /www.webct.ubc.c a /S C R IP T/a gsc_450/s c ripts/ serve_home Evaluation "@en . "Report"@en . "10.14288/1.0108697"@en . "eng"@en . "Unreviewed"@en . "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en . "Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada"@en . "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/"@en . "Undergraduate"@en . "University of British Columbia. AGSC 450"@en . "UBC Social Ecological Economic Development Studies (SEEDS) Student Report"@en . "Perceptions of UBC customers regarding the price of food at UBC"@en . "Text"@en . "http://hdl.handle.net/2429/51423"@en .