SUSTAINABILITY

University Dining Services as managed by Sodexo, mission is to improve the quality of daily life for people whenever and wherever they come together. Central to achieving this mission is recognition that we have a duty to protect our environment. Sodexo Campus Services at the University of Vermont supports this tenet through the following initiatives:

Local & Organic Foods
University Dining Services (UDS) is a committed partner in the development of a local food presence on the University of Vermont Campus as an integral part of our dining services programs. Over the past two years, UDS has worked hard to increase the number of local vendors who provide services to the campus, as well as, integrate core Vermont products into our menu mix.

In the past, UVM students have enjoyed a productive relationship with the UVM Dairy, Horticultural farms and many native farmers who supplied local products to campus dining halls. Unfortunately, across the country these connections have been disappearing as industrial agriculture grows and dislocates farmers from consumers. UDS has recently commenced working to rebuild and expand upon these relationships and offer as much local fare as possible to UVM students. For more information on UDS’s local works please contact us.

Why local?
UDS has chosen to expand its local foods offerings for many reasons. The UDS team, students, faculty, staff, farmers and distributors have expressed interest in a revival of a UVM local foods network – there are many benefits:

• Local products spend less time in transit and therefore arrive faster & fresher
• Chefs can offer different varieties of vegetables grown locally for flavor and character – rather than vegetables grown for interstate durability
• Local eating connects students to the environment by respecting seasonality and the unique features of our bioregion
• Local purchasing eliminates the need for long-distance hauling and substantially reduces greenhouse gas emissions from trucking – limiting our dining footprint
• Local purchasing supports the viability of local farms and protects land by supporting sustainable agricultural use

The Process
University Dining Services began coordinating its local foods initiatives in April 2005 with the first Farm to College event. Since then, local producers have been steadily gaining ground in campus eateries. In July 2005 Champlain Orchards of Shoreham , Vermont gained approval to begin supplying apples and cider year-round. Two months later, Black River Produce was certified as a supplier of produce, thus creating a conduit for local producers to gain easy access to UVM markets.

Current Status
Fall semester 2006 has seen important progress on the Local Foods front. It was the first semester University Dining Services (UDS) had access to Black River Produce's network of local farms. In the first two months of the semester UDS bought over $50,000 in produce grown wholly in the state of Vermont. In addition, native dairy, meat and beverage purchases more than doubled native totals from 2005.

Through Black River, UDS also began purchasing produce from Arethusa Collective Farm at the Intervale. This represented the first commercial partnership between Intervale Farms and UDS. Through this partnership campus diners have access to fresh, organic carrots and mesclun that travels less than a mile to reach campus. UDS has met with the Intervale Foundation and is exploring ways to expand this partnership.

We are also pleased to announce the addition of New World Tortilla to the Dudley H. Davis Center. Students will be able to use points and cash at a dining platform supported by one of Vermont's true local foods restaurant. New World Tortilla received high marks on student surveys for dining options at The Davis Center.

Challenges
University Dining Services has also exercised a long-standing commitment to supporting Vermont companies. Though many of these companies use locally sourced ingredients, we do not include them in our native foods totals because they do not meet the stringent labeling standards mandated by the Vermont Department of Agriculture.

This means that many of the local farmers we support go unrecognized in our native foods totals. For this reason, the native foods benchmark is merely one tool by which we can gauge the success of our programs.

Aside from the constraints of a small state, UDS’s local foods efforts are limited by the fact that Vermont ’s primary agricultural output comes during the summer when classes are not in session. Without access to large processing and storage infrastructure, the availability of native foods dwindle in the winter and spring months. Especially after the 2006 spring flooding and thanks to the burgeoning grassroots local foods movement many suppliers simply do not have the surplus to sell.

Since UDS began tracking local foods programs, native purchasing has more than doubled and continues to grow.

Future
As a result of the 2007 Farm to College Forum, University Dining Services (UDS) will be conducting follow-up meetings with interested Vermont suppliers and working to secure native sources for products including bottled milk (bulk milk is already sourced native), bulk ice cream and bulk maple syrup, which are high volume items on UVM's campus.

UDS is also working to promote local vendor relationships and utilize local products when ever possible in the Dudley H. Davis Center. The Sodexo Sustainablity Gallery, located in the Davis Center, will be the hub for information on tracking the building's energy usage, as well as statistics such as local purchases, tons of compost; along with other environmental impact statistics.

Farm to College Forum

April 15 th 2005 University Dining Services in conjunction with area Sodexo managed campus food services accounts; the Agency of Agriculture and Vermont Fresh Network teamed together to connect with local farmers. The purpose of the day was to bring together local farms, processors/packagers, distributors and purchasers to understand the means necessary for increasing Vermont product utilization at Sodexo locations.

The Farm to College forum educated farmers on the process to sell their products on the University of Vermont campus and educated Sodexo on the production process for farmers. Bill Suhr, supplier/producer of Champlain Orchards, was one of the participate who attended the forum in April 2005. Suhr now delivers apples and cider to the University of Vermont weekly. For more information regarding the next Farm to College forum, scheduled for Spring 2007, please feel free to contact us.

Vermont Fresh Network

UDS is proud to announce we are members of the Vermont Fresh Network. Members of the Vermont Fresh Network must purchase products from at least 2 farms directly. UDS purchases products from Champlain Orchards, Misty Knoll Farm, Chittenden as well as from over 40 other farms through Black River Produce. Sodexo is a key sponsor and participant in the Vermont Fresh Network forum held in August each year.

Black River Produce
In September 2005 Black River Produce (BRP), a North Springfield based distributor specializing in Vermont products, was a certified by Sodexo as a supplier of produce. BRP puts Sodexo in contact with an ever-increasing network of local farms (currently around 40) some less than a mile from campus!

In the fall semester 2006, over $50,000 in exclusively Vermont-grown produce was purchased through BRP by University Dining Services. All bulk liquid milk served on campus--- roughly $30,000 per semester -- comes exclusively from Vermont farms through Booth Brother’s Dairy (a Hood subsidiary). Substantial and increasing quantities of other Vermont products including raw honey, maple syrup, chicken, cheese and more are available in campus dining halls.

Fest and Tours

Each semester University Dining Services (UDS) chefs and creative resident dining hall staff host a memorable evening by showcasing cuisine and decorating their units to depict different North American Regions. One evening in autumn is always dedicated to celebrating local Vermont products prepared with Vermont recipes with a Taste of Vermont Dinner.

In addition to the Taste of Vermont Dinner, UDS hosts week long, and campus-wide Fest, celebrating some of Vermont ’s most beloved products. In October we celebrate Applefest. The apples used during the Applefest and throughout the year come from Champlain Orchards in Shoreham , Vermont . Bill Suhr, owner of Champlain Orchards is a graduate of the University of Vermont .

Farmfest, a recently added Fest is celebrated in September. The Fest includes recipes with Vermont produce and pays tribute to the farmers who grow it. Farmfest events included guest appearances from Arethusa Farm, Lewis Creek , and Black River Produce. Arethusa Farms, and Lewis Creek are growers who supply produce, to the UVM community through University Dining Services local produce purveyor, Black River Produce.

April played host to our second new Fest, Vermont Artisan Cheesefest; a week long, campus-wide event showcasing Vermont produced cheese. The Fest featured cheese based recipes in all our campus dining locations, and three evenings of cheese tastings, information and fun facts. Check out our April Events page for a listing of special guest appearances.

Springtime in Vermont means maple syrup, a time honor tradition. In April enjoy recipes made with the sweet taste of Vermont maple syrup during our Maplefest celebration held at all the campus dining locations.

Local Food Internship

University Dining Services (UDS) established an internship position for an University of Vermont student to assist in the transition to a more sustainable food purchasing model. Spring 2006, a local food assessment was preformed which, allowed the intern to become involved in benchmarking UDS local purchases, identifying local opportunities, research comparable institutions and provided recommendations for future actions. The findings were presented to the Dining Advisory and Environmental Council in May, 2006.

Based on the results of the initial local food assessments, UDS set realistic goals to increase the percentage of native food purchases and better advertise when native products were being utilized in the dining facilities. UDS is committed to the continued development of bringing local foods to campus dining. As part of this on-going effort, UDS has extended the local food internship position to the Fall 2006 semesters and a second local food assessment will performed in January, 2007.

For more information on UDS’s local works please contact us.