Some Friday humor courtesy of the DNC

Face the State (Colorado) has a bit of humor I wanted to share with y'all about the upcoming Democratic National Convention. If you're looking for something on the light side for your Friday reading, this interview with a potential DNC caterer is it.

In case you're wondering, this is not a fiction piece. The complete catering RFP includes such terms as:

The criteria to be used for the proposal evaluation include but are not limited to:
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4) Participation of Minorities, Women, and People with Disabilities is a goal in all Planning Committee related contracts. The Planning Committee will look to award 15% to minority business enterprises and no less than 15% to womenowned business enterprises. If you are not a minority and /or women-owned business, please describe how you will incorporate minority and women owned business in Section B.

5) How products and/or services provided minimize resource consumption and negative impacts on the environment.
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No weighing or relative importance is intended or implied by this list. However, the Planning Committee encourages the submission of responses by firms who contract with persons who belong to an organized labor union as well as those firms owned by minorities, women and people with disabilities. Accordingly, please include any information regarding certification as or collaboration with minority business enterprises, women business enterprises, and/or persons with disabilities, as well as any union designations.
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A.12 PLANNING COMMITTEE GREEN MISSION
In support of the DNC’s “green” mission to Planning an environmentally responsible convention, preference will be given to Vendors that have a proven commitment to “green” practices and that consider and minimize the life-cycle environmental impacts of catering.

The Vendor must demonstrate experience with greening events and/or willingness to support the Green priorities of the Planning Committee and Mayor’s Office by making very effort to accomplish the following:

1) Offer, highlight and promote food that meets with the Greening Initiative’s Lean and Green Criteria:

2) Lean
a) Half of the meal (or 50%) of the plate is made up of fruits and/or vegetables
b) A colorful meal - include at least three of the following five colors: red, green, yellow, blue/purple, and white. (Garnishes not included)
c) No items are to be fried

3) Green
a) 70% or more of ingredients by precooked weight are certified organic
i) and/or grown/raised in Colorado
b) 70% or more of ingredients by pre-cooked weight are fresh and (not preprocessed)

4) Use re-usable service ware such as china, porcelain, glassware, and metal flatware. Use cloth napkins and tablecloths instead of paper.

5) When absolutely necessary to use a disposable product, make sure that it is either made out of recycled and recyclable plastic or that it is compostable bioware. Be consistent in your selection so that the waste stream is easier to manage after the event.

6) Recycle or compost all trash that can be recycled or composted.

7) Donate all food waste to local food banks that can be donated. Compost all food that cannot be donated.

8) Do not serve plastic bottled water. Serve tap water in large dispensers or in pitchers to be served upon request.

9) Encourage work staff to take alternative transportation such as walking, riding a bike, carpooling, or taking public transportation. Discourage all single occupancy vehicles.

10) After your event, calculate and offset its carbon footprint using the online mechanism provided by the Planning Committee. For the purpose of this modest investment, you should factor in a line item of about to your budget

11) Communicate your green activities to your attendees creatively while generating the least amount of waste. Be sure that any necessary documents, signage or banners are made of highest content possible post-consumer recycled content are able to be re-used or re-purposed.

12) Work with the Planning Committee greening staff to document and measure your efforts.

As with any RFP, there are questions that arise, and the answers are posted on-line:

For the purpose of the RFP and until we have more specific answers, please keep in mind that the Host Committee of the Democratic National Convention is committed to making this the greenest convention possible.
Our goals are the following:
• To minimize any potentially negative environmental impacts of the 2008 Convention on our community;
• To create a new green standard for all conventions that can be reproduced in the future, here in Denver and elsewhere;
• To demonstrate the economic and community benefits of greening;
• To educate our own citizens and our guests about green and healthy choices they make in their own lives; and
• To build an enduring positive environmental legacy that will echo here and around the country long after the last delegate arrives back home.

We recognize that this initiative is the first of its kind and there are no precedents. We are asking all partners to make best efforts and explain ways/methods/business practices that you will endeavor to help us achieve our goals. Once you are selected, a member of our Greening team will specifically work with you to achieve green-oriented goals.

I have no idea if the RNC has anything similar.