09/17/2014
Pearl's Produce is very happy to be participating in Fairfood!
Read more in MUM's The Review
"Food Service Greatly Increases Use of Locally Grown Vegetables"
Campus diners are now enjoying food prepared using a greater proportion of locally grown produce thanks to the new Fairfood initiative begun this summer.
In the past, MUM would only purchase certified organic vegetables and fruit, which meant passing up local produce that was grown without pesticides, herbicides, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), but wasn't certified organic. So faculty member Dr. A. Thimmaiah, who wrote the organic standards for the country of Bhutan, developed a new standard, called Fairfood, that local growers must meet in order for the University to purchase their produce.
As a result, the campus food service has been able to offer a greater amount of local produce beginning in late July, including melon, zucchini, peppers, green beans, and beets.
Locally grown food is preferable for a variety of reasons, says faculty member Lonnie Gamble. It's fresher, it can be harvested later in its maturation, which improves taste and nutrition, it's better for the environment because it need not be transported 1,800 miles, thereby saving energy, and it's better for the local economy.
The initiative was spearheaded by Mr. Gamble and Fairfield's Jan Swinton, who is the local food coordinator for 15 counties in southeast Iowa. The goal was to "jump-start the local food economy" by providing a ready and reliable market for growers, such as the Amish.
MUM contracted with Ms. Swinton on a three-month trial basis to act as purchaser for local produce in order to assess how using a greater amount of local fruit and vegetables would fit in with the dining service system of menus and purchasing and what the costs would be.
"Suresh, our chef, really loves the idea and he is adapting the menu to use more seasonal produce," Mr. Gamble said.
He said that although the goal wasn't to save money, in one of the first weeks of the Fairfood initiative, the University spent $2,000 on produce that would otherwise have cost $4,000.
As MUM more regularly buys locally and works with local growers to familiarize them with the Fairfood standard, farmers will be more apt to plant what the University needs.
"The idea is to develop it, so we can tell farmers what we need and next year they can grow it," Mr. Gamble said. "It's really exciting. The University spends about $8,500 a week on vegetables. That's about $450,000 a year that could support 8 to 12 small vegetable farmers. We keep the money in the community and could give the Sustainable Living graduates something to do."
In addition to pesticides, herbicides, hormones, and GMOs, the standards govern how close fields can be to conventionally grown crops, the source of water used for irrigation, how distant the food can be grown, composting, and more.
Mr. Gamble hopes the Fairfood standard will become more widely accepted and used by other organizations.
