On Thursday, April 27th from 1:00 to 2:15 pm ET, Farm to Institution New England (FINE) hosted Local Food for Campus Dining: Stats & Stories, a webinar featuring highlights from Campus Dining 101: A Benchmark Study on Farm to College in New England. This recently-released campus dining report presents data collected from dining operators at 105 colleges and universities in New England.
This webinar illustrates how FINE's research can inform your efforts to increase procurement of local food at institutions in New England and beyond. We discuss topics such as: the rising demand for local food; definitions of local and tracking methods; the prevalence of price and availability barriers; campus farms and gardens; food education initiatives; and differences between campuses operated by food service management companies and those that are self-operated.
Campus Dining 101 presents in-depth findings and makes specific, data-based recommendations for institutions of higher education as well as government officials, funders, and institutions. Half of all institutions of higher education in New England that offer dining services responded to the survey. Public universities, private colleges, community colleges, and others are represented in the findings. Together, these colleges and universities serve over 65 million meals per year.
FINE staff members are joined by dining directors from Unity College in Maine and Roger Williams University from Rhode Island, who discuss issues on their campuses that are surfaced by the report. Near the end, we share ways for you to get involved through the Farm & Sea to Campus Network and our new Campus FoodShift initiative. The webinar closes with a chance for you to ask questions of the presenters.
Speakers:
– Nessa Richman, Metrics & Development Manager, Farm to Institution New England
– Peter Allison, Network Director, Farm to Institution New England
– Stephanie Keith, Bon Appétit Controller & Marketing Manager, Roger Williams University
– Chef Jenny MacArthur, Assistant Director of Dining Services, Unity College (self-operated food service)
