Healthy & Sustainable Catering in Boulder County

Vendors are deemed zero waste if they offer options that meet the following criteria:

1. Provide reusable or compostable service ware
2. Serve drinks in compostable, recyclable, and/or reusable materials
3. Serve condiments in bulk rather than individual packages (or packaging is compostable or recyclable material)
4. Have access to compost and/or recycling services at location for preparation and post-event waste.

Learn What Can Be Recycled or Composted

• To find out more information on what can be recycled or composted, please visit CHARM’s website.
• To determine if a product is compostable please visit the BPI website and enter in the product name, SKU or keyword.

Interested in becoming certified zero waste? Contact Partners for a Clean Environment.

To support and protect the environment, employees, and visitors, Boulder County has adopted zero waste and healthy meeting policies for Boulder County supported events and meetings. Boulder County employees, interns, and volunteers must follow these guidelines.

The requirements below can also be used as a template for organizations wishing to support zero waste and healthy eating in their workplace. Boulder County Public Health staff is available to support organizations wishing to make this change.

Zero Waste Requirements

• All meetings and events serving food and/or drinks (catered or otherwise) in county-owned or leased buildings, and leased buildings that have zero waste collection in place, must be conducted as zero waste meetings.
• All county-sponsored meetings and events serving food and/or drinks (catered or otherwise) in private buildings or facilities (or in leased buildings that have not been converted to the zero waste collection system) must also be conducted as zero waste meetings.
• All events for which Boulder County issues a permit on county property (i.e. courthouse lawn, fairgrounds, parking lots, etc.) must be conducted as zero waste events when food and or drinks are served.
• For catered events, food and/or drinks must be supplied in reusable (durable), compostable, or recyclable containers, served on reusable or compostable dinnerware, and eaten using reusable or compostable silverware and napkins. For non-catered events, county staff is encouraged to seek zero waste and healthy food options. Purchase of non-recyclable/ non-compostable take-out pastry, deli and snack trays by county staff is discouraged.

Healthy Requirements

• All meetings and events where Boulder County employees, interns, and volunteers will be using Boulder County funding (including grants and contracts funding) to provide food and beverages to staff, clients, guests, and the public will be conducted as healthy meetings and events. This does not apply to individual client meetings that are held outside of Boulder County offices.
• All meetings that provide food and/or drinks must:
  • Include at least one serving of fruits or vegetables.
  • Ensure that tap water is available. Filtered water should be provided whenever possible.
    • Permitted beverages include water, 100% fruit and vegetable juices, unsweetened coffee and tea, carbonated water with no added caloric sweeteners, low-fat and non-fat milk, and other non-calorically sweetened beverages (such as stevia).
  • Provide a healthy option (e.g. fresh fruit) whenever providing desserts. Sugary desserts can be provided, as long as healthy options are also offered. If possible, cut sugary dessert servings in half.
  • Serve whole grain products whenever possible
  • Serve salad dressings and condiments on the side whenever possible. If it is not possible, ask the salads be lightly dressed.
  • Consider potential dietary restrictions (e.g. vegetarian, vegan, and gluten intolerant) of the meeting participants.
  • Plant-based options are both healthy and good for the environment as they use fewer resources to produce.

Inspections are rated based on the violations noted at that inspection. Each violation has a specific point value. The fewer points on an inspection, the better rating received by the vendor.

To calculate a safety rating, locate the violations that were cited on the inspection, add up the points, and compare the score to the scale below.

Excellent 0-19
Good 20-39
Fair 40-69
Marginal 70-99
Unacceptable >100 Points

Zero Waste

• Ask if the caterer provides reusable material (i.e., plates, utensils, cups) before selecting compostable and/or recyclable options
• If choosing compostable products, verify with the caterer that they are BPI-Certified Compostable
• Avoid requesting individual packages like ketchup or sugar
• Ensure that either your location or the caterer provide recycling and composting services for post-event waste

Healthy

• Ask if caterer can serve dressings and condiments on the side
• Ask if caterer can cut larger items in half
• Serve fresh fruit as a side or dessert
• Select whole grains when possible
• Offer tap water infused with fruit or cucumbers