On Friday, October 24, UCSC Dining, along with hundreds of other organizations across the country, participated in Food Day 2014 by celebrating local and sustainable foods. UCSC and Cal Dining took this to the next level by serving only food that was grown (or raised) and processed locally—that is, within 250 miles of our campus.
Most of us wouldn't realize how many typical, everyday ingredients do not typically originate within this radius. All proteins, vegetables, fruits, grains, salads/dressings, beverages, desserts—all of the herbs, even the salts—were harvested and purchased locally. Indeed, several items we take for granted—soda, coffee, tea, bananas, chocolate-chip cookies–were unavailable.
In addition to offering high-quality local foods, the meal offered a fantastic educational opportunity by raising awareness among diners about the benefits of being a locavore. Students were able to engage directly with several local growers and other partners involved in Chancellor Blumenthal’s Real Food—40% by 2020—Challenge.
Raising awareness about the benefits of a completely local diet attempts to raise hopes for ways to reduce its associated costs. Locally sourcing all ingredients raised the per-person plate cost by 83% for these meals.
This completely local meal was the first goal of the Global Food Initiative Sub-Committee for Sustainable Food Procurement–a group composed of CHES’ own Scott Berlin, Sean Lapean (UCB), Justin Sullivan and Eric Pollack (UCOP), and Joseph Maritinus (Student Intern, UCLA), and dovetails very nicely with the UC Global Food Initiative recently announced by President Napolitano (http://www.ucop.edu/initiatives/global-food-initiative.html).
For more information about Food Day, visit its site at http://www.foodday.org/about.
