(WheaFarm over the summer)
While dinning places around campus having been getting more modern, in terms of trends and practices, one thing that seems to not have been emphasized much is local food. I'm thinking mostly in regards to farms in the area. Because it's closest to me, I am thinking mostly of WheaFarm, Wheaton's on campus community garden. Finishing up our second season, the farm still had produce growing for around two months into the school year. Without an organized venue, it is hard to find ways to distribute our produce.
Of all the people I asked, everyone agreed that making use of locally grown foods in dinning places would be enjoyed and welcomed. In the past, there have been weekly farmers markets in the fall and spring, and sometimes in winter too. However, in the past, the farm didn't yet have enough food to share, the markets have since died down.
Another obstacle is that our contract with Aramark, our food provider, prevents local food. The contract states that only food provided by Aramark can be served in official dinning locations on campus. This is one reason why we had to have our Gandhi dinner in Beard Hall.
Hopefully, in the near future, we will able to have some change of policy that will allow local, fresh food to be served on campus. How nice would it be to know that some days, some of the squash on your plate, or the salad you can choose was grown by classmates. One person I asked said they grew up on a farm, and that they knew that homegrown would always taste better!
I think it would be great to have Aramark work with WheaFarm in using the produce grown here! I know of multiple colleges that have similar programs to this and I don't see why they couldn't work with the school in changing the policy. Their job is ultimately to keep us fed, although a lot of discussion on this blog might suggest they don't have that as a number one priority. Nonetheless I believe that a big portion of the students here would definitely support WheaFarm producing some of the ingredients in our own food at Chase or Emerson. Of course, there is a huge quantity of produce needed to make a full nights dinner for all of the students at Chase, so maybe a daily meal swipe at one of the Cafes on campus could be the spot to host the locally farmed meals!
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