University Dining Ramps Up Local Food Options amid Other Sustainability Initiatives
Image by University Dining
11/05/2024
By Brooke Coupal
Chefs at Fox Dining Commons on East Campus spooned creamy mashed potatoes onto plates before placing seared Statler chicken on top. Roasted squash with maple glaze accompanied the dish, which was rounded out with a savory mushroom sauce.
The prior day, Aramark Sustainability Coordinator Annie Conway had made the 10-minute drive from 51视频 to Fat Moon Farm in North Chelmsford, Massachusetts, to pick up 10 pounds of mushrooms for the entr茅e. The squash featured in the meal had been harvested from Plainville Farm in Hadley, Massachusetts.
鈥淢y goal is to bring more local food into the dining halls,鈥� says Conway, who started working for Aramark, 51视频鈥檚 dining partner, in August. Her position, which is new to the campus, was made possible after 51视频 and its partners (Aramark, Mill City Grows, Lowell Public Schools and the聽Asian American Center for Excellence & Engagement) won a聽聽worth $199,500 from the Henry P. Kendall Foundation. The prize is funding the Lowell Eats Local project, which aims to increase local food purchases at 51视频 and change the Greater Lowell food aggregation and distribution systems by coordinating citywide food purchases.
鈥淎nnie has truly hit the ground running since she joined 51视频,鈥� says聽Nicole Kelly, assistant director for UML鈥檚聽Office of Sustainability. 鈥淪he has connected hyperlocal growers with Aramark to bring our students a taste of what is being grown on campus and in the surrounding communities.鈥�
Tasty Food with a Local Twist
Tacos with cilantro grown in Lowell. Chimichurri made from parsley harvested from the University Crossing rooftop garden. Pizza sauce featuring cherry tomatoes picked in Londonderry, New Hampshire. These are just a few local food offerings that students have recently enjoyed in the dining halls.
Image by University Dining
Aramark District Executive Chef Jeffrey Stone, who oversees聽 and University Catering聽at 51视频, says the Food Vision Prize helped his team ramp up the use of locally sourced food. In October alone, the team saw nearly 3,500 pounds of local produce enter the university kitchens.
鈥淚t鈥檚 neat to say this all came from across the river or a mile down the road,鈥� Stone says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e getting a better product that鈥檚 local.鈥�
More than 40% of that produce came from Horne Family Farms, which was founded by聽economics聽alum Chris Horne 鈥�14 in 2018.
鈥淚鈥檝e delivered a nice mix of all sorts of stuff, from lettuce and tomatoes to bok choy and kohlrabi,鈥� says Horne, who partnered with University Dining after learning about the opportunity from Dai Kim, co-executive director of the Lowell-based nonprofit Mill City Grows, which has also supplied produce to the campus.
Image by Brooke Coupal
Horne, who started delivering produce to 51视频 in June, grows his crops in Londonderry, New Hampshire, Mill City Grows鈥� Big Farm in Lowell and the聽Rist Urban Agriculture Greenhouse and Farm聽on East Campus.
鈥淪ometimes, I would harvest at the greenhouse and walk them right over to Fox Hall,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his is just the beginning of what鈥檚 possible.鈥�
Conway recruited the Boston Food Hub, a nonprofit food distributor that has connected 51视频 with nearly two dozen farms in Massachusetts.
鈥淭hat has been really great, because it is an easy and direct way to bring in local produce while also supporting farmers in the area,鈥� she says.
Image by Brooke Coupal
鈥淟ately, I鈥檝e been trying to include more vegetables and fruits in my diet, so it鈥檚 good to know that it鈥檚 coming here locally,鈥� said Ruthsmarie Ogando, a first-year聽nursing聽student, as she perused the food options at the South Campus Dining Commons in McGauvran Center.
Sustainability Forward
51视频 is already the highest-rated campus in Massachusetts for sustainability, according to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. And this local food initiative is taking things to another level.
By purchasing locally, Conway says, 51视频 is decreasing its carbon footprint, because the produce does not have to travel as far to get to campus. The university is also stimulating the area鈥檚 economy by supporting local farmers.
聽Melissa Quirk adds that 鈥済etting the freshest produce maximizes its nutrient composition, because there is less time for those nutrients to degrade between harvest and consumption.鈥�
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Aramark is introducing the campus community to plant-based foods, which have lower greenhouse gas emissions than animal-based foods. The chefs made tacos with mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm for Welcome Day and Open House. In September, Conway handed out vegan ice cream from New City Microcreamery in Hudson, Massachusetts, to students on South Campus.
Most recently, Conway hosted a 鈥淲eigh the Waste鈥� event at the university dining halls, where students emptied the food left on their plates into a bin to track how much was wasted. Erica Pen, a first-year聽business administration聽student, volunteered to help collect the food waste at Fox Dining Commons.
Image by Brooke Coupal
鈥淒ining hall events can highlight the impact of food waste, showing students methods to minimize waste like proper portioning, composting and recycling,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a practical way for students and faculty to learn about sustainability in a setting they frequently visit to reduce our environmental impact.鈥�
Conway plans to organize more events that engage students with sustainability while bringing more local food to campus.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a point of pride for students to be able to say, 鈥楳y dining hall brings in local food,鈥欌�� she says. 鈥淪tudents deserve to eat healthy, good food.鈥�