Published 2011-09-06T19:56:00Z”/>
Molly Rose Livingston
It is uncommon to eat a sandwich and know where the ingredients were grown and produced. A.S. Dining Services is changing that.
The local lunch program gives students a way to support nearby farmers and ranchers with meals made almost entirely with locally-sourced produce and products.
It also makes it possible to know where each part of the meal is coming from.
The featured farms and companies with products used in the lunch are listed on the menu.
The meals use an average of 85 percent local product, said Corinne Knapp, retail manager of A.S. Dining Services.
With a program in the Marketplace Cafe and Sutter Dining, the dining service offers all students access to locally grown and produced lunches.
Almost everything from the breads and meats to the sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese and olive oil is brought in from local farms and business.
“I first search for ingredients that are in connecting counties,” Knapp said. “If I can’t find the right ingredients I need, I consider Northern California. We do what we can to meet the criteria for organic, fair trade, humanely raised and local.”
Many ingredients are purchased from the University Farm, while others come from companies such as Sierra Nevada Cheese Company, West Coast Products and Tin Roof Bakery & Cafe.
Most produce in California is shipped an average of 1,500 to 2,500 miles before being sold, according to buylocalca.org. Food may also spend more than a week in the shipping process.
Buying products from nearby farmers and companies can help the environment, as there are often fewer fuel emissions released in the transporting of the products. Local can also mean a fresher product.
The daily local lunch is served at the Savory’s station in the Marketplace Cafe in the Bell Memorial Union. It is the only station in the Marketplace Cafe that has a menu that changes every week. A new lunch is introduced every Monday. The meal’s price is in the same range as those offered at other stations in the marketplace.
“The local lunch is fun for us in the kitchen,” Knapp said. “Around Wednesday and Thursday we start thinking about the following week. We pass each other practically at a run in the kitchen and shoot out ideas.”
The menu this semester will repeat many of the most popular lunches from spring semester, including butternut squash soup and homemade macaroni and cheese.
“We’re going to be featuring some of our best items,” Knapp said.
Vegetarian options are available some weeks.
The program is a joint effort between A.S. Dining Services, students in the Local Food Task Force and A.S. Sustainability.
The Marketplace Cafe began the program in spring 2010 and originally only offered a local lunch once a week. Last spring, its popularity allowed a daily addition to the lunches served in the Marketplace Cafe.
“This was in many way inspired by the students,” Sustainability Coordinator Robyn DiFalco said. “Students started expressing a lot of interest in seeing more locally-sourced meal options and organic foods. It’s in line with Chico State trying to be recognized as a leader in sustainability.”
Sutter Dining offers a local lunch twice a month on Wednesdays. Their program is run with a separate menu.
“We do a lot of handmade stuff,” said Aric Snow, production manager and chef for Sutter Dining. This semester he plans to do more handmade pastas, tamales
and breads.
The first local lunch of the semester in Sutter Dining will be Sept. 14.
Morgan Shaw, a senior international relations major, has had the local lunch three times this semester.
“It supports local business and is a good price,” he said.
This week’s basil and sun dried tomato stuffed chicken breast costs $6.99 and is served with wild rice and organic green beans.
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<strong>Molly Rose Livingston can be reached at</strong>
<em>[email protected]</em>
