|
Local and organic foods
Vassar’s efforts to increase the percentage of locally grown and produced foods used in the dining halls began in 2002. It now includes fruits and vegetables, dairy products from four local diaries, including two different local yogurts, locally grown and milled polenta, local free roaming chicken, goods from three bakeries, and locally grown and processed frozen pizza and tomato sauce (For more information on this exciting pilot program see Greenwave)
While local is our first choice, we also offer a number of organic options, like a salad bar with organic greens, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower.
Trayless Dining
This year, Campus Dining removed the trays from the All College Dining Center. Research has shown that “trayless dining” saves thousands of gallons of water, saves energy, and lessens food waste.
Food and recycling receives an ‘A’ on the Sustainable Endowment Institute’s College Sustainability Report Card.
Here’s what they wrote about the dining program:
“The college's Farm-to-Vassar program works to purchase food from approximately 20 local producers and supports 3 local dairies, allowing for 30 percent of food purchases to be sourced locally. Hormone-free milk, strictly cage-free eggs, and fair trade coffee are served. All food waste from the dining halls is composted at the Vassar Farm, and used fryer oil is donated to be made into biodiesel.”
Read about our coffee supplier, Just Coffee http://www.justcoffee.org/
Kitchen waste composting
Both the Kitchens in ACDC and in The Retreat collect kitchen waste and send it to The Vassar Farm where it is composted. In addition food scraps on plates are collected after the consumer has eaten in ACDC.
Greenwave
Campus Dining is in the second year of a pilot program with the Greenwave organization. Greenwave buys tomatoes from local farmers and processes them at the Poughkeepsie Food Works. The tomato sauce and pizza sauce is then frozen. All of the tomato sauce on our pizza and served with our pasta comes from tomatoes grown on local farms and processed locally, strengthening the local economy.
|