A cup of coffee... A banana... A bar of chocolate... Every item in your university’s cafeteria started life on a farm. By asking the people in charge at your school to commit to sourcing sustainable food and beverages, you can ensure that these farms provide roosts for birds, havens for wildlife, and a safe and healthy environment for workers.

What Makes Coffee, Tea and Other Food Products “Sustainable”?

Agricultural products can be grown without causing deforestation, water pollution, soil erosion, endangering worker health or threatening local wildlife. Sustainable agricultural goods come from responsibly managed farms and from companies that choose to source their raw ingredients from these farms.

Make sure that the agricultural products on your campus are sustainable -- look and ask for the Rainforest Alliance Certified™ seal. It provides a credible link between responsible farming and the consumption of agricultural products, enabling your campus to make purchasing decisions that benefit your community and the environment.

What is the Rainforest Alliance Doing?

• Helping to develop (and continuously improve upon) standards for socially, environmentally and economically viable agriculture.
• Hosting trainings for -- and providing technical assistance to -- farmers interested in sustainable land management.
• Awarding Rainforest Alliance certification to farms that have met the Sustainable Agriculture Network’s comprehensive criteria for social, environmental and economic sustainability.
• Connecting responsible growers with buyers interested in sustainably harvested goods.
• Educating consumers about the benefits of sustainable farming – and increasing demand for goods grown in a responsible way.

What You Can Do

Ask your school for Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee, tea, chocolate and other food products!

• Find out who makes decisions about the food and beverages available in campus dining halls, cafés, vending machines and more.
• Ask if your school purchases Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee, tea or other products for all of these locations! See our list of key questions to ask about food services for help in talking to the people in charge
• Use our Letter to Dining Services to ask for Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee, tea and other food products on campus!
• Use the Rainforest Alliance on Campus Petition to show your administration that students and faculty care about sustainable food and beverage sourcing!
• Join the ‘Frog on Campus’ Facebook page and start following us on Twitter! Use both to spread the word about sustainable sourcing on college campuses!
• Use Foursquare to post tips on local coffee shops and other locations selling Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee, tea or other food items! Learn more about how to use Foursquare for sustainability.

Learn more about our work in sustainable agriculture.