Last week, the UMass Dining team met with Andy Kendall, Executive Director of the Henry P. Kendall Foundation regarding the Local, Healthy UMass Food System Initiative. The meeting was held to discuss the progress being made at UMass Dining to leverage broader institutional change in order to create a more resilient New England food system. The […]
A diet full of healthy, nutritious, and fresh foods is a huge part of the key to success for children in K-12 public schools, but when we think about what public schools actually serve students, the food is usually the opposite – unhealthy, nutrient deficient, and highly processed. 93% of students who attend the Stefanik Elementary
Growing Community in Chicopee- The Stefanik Elementary Garden Read More »
Tara, Pete, and their five children We last spoke with our partners at PT Farm for Farmer of the Week eighteen months ago. Any farmer will tell you that farms never remain stagnant and are constantly in a state of evolution. So, it was time to check in to find out what’s new on the
Farmer of the Week Update: PT Farm Read More »
Last week, the UMass Earth Day Festival brought together a diverse range of student groups including the UMass Food Recovery Network, New2U Reuse Tag Sale, the Student Farming Enterprise and the UMass Green Building Council for a day of activities, education, and fun! This year was the 46th annual Earth Day Festival at UMass. It
Celebrate the Earth Read More »
Preparing spiralized butternut squash at the Taste of UMass event on 4/7/16. We checked in with Joe Czajkowski, our largest local farm partner to find out what’s been happening on the farm since we last interviewed him in late 2014. He’s been busy! Joe is always working to expand his product line. In the past
As UMass Dining sources from more local meat farms, our staff has increased its ability to butcher on site. While processing meat on site requires more time and labor, it also allows the chefs to get the cuts they need to be creative with their dishes. For example, Hampshire Dining Commons grinds its own beef, sourced
Interview with Chef de Cuisine, Bob Bankert Read More »
University of Massachusetts Amherst Auxiliary Enterprises has been awarded a $3,500 grant from the Women for UMass Amherst Fund (WFUM) that will be used for a permaculture garden project at Stefanik Elementary School in Chicopee. The award will fund maintenance for the garden and provide educational programming both at the garden and in classrooms at
One goal of the Local, Healthy UMass Food System Initiative is to increase the amount of lean animal proteins purchased locally, which would yield a plethora of benefits from plate to farm to region: In pursuit of this goal, our team has begun to research the meat farms in New England, beginning with poultry farms.
On the Ground Update- Sourcing Poultry from Local Farms Read More »
We are revisiting a local farm that we originally featured in our Farmer of the Week program over fifteen months ago – Diemand Farm in Wendell, MA – to find out what’s new on the farm! The farm continues to be operated by siblings Anne, Faith, and Pete Diemand. While their range of products —
With common lows of 10 degrees Fahrenheit during Massachusetts winters, it’s hard to believe that people can eat New England regional foods from November to April. When a foot or two of snow separates farmers from the soil, that possibility seems to shrink even further. Can we eat locally and seasonally right through our frigid
Building Resilient Systems-Eating Local during Massachusetts Winters Read More »
