Food

Last week, our staff visited Warm Colors Apiary to discuss how to strengthen the connection between the apiary and surrounding communities. The event was organized by CISA, a non-profit dedicated to improving the viability of local agriculture by bridging the gap between farms and local consumers.  The visit included a tour of the apiary as well […]

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

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

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.

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

Gleaning is a term originating from biblical times used to describe the act of redistributing the surplus of a harvest. In doing this, volunteers collect leftover crops from farmers fields after they have been commercially harvested or on fields where it may not be economically profitable to harvest.  Two weeks ago, the UMass Permaculture Initiative

“A national event. Real food, just food.”  Every October 24th, thousands of Food Day events are held across the nation, but why? What is Food Day, anyway, and why does it bring so many people together?  Just 5 years ago, there was no such thing as a national “Food Day” in America – no food labor conferences,

Who said kids shouldn’t play with their food?  This November, UMass Dining staff and about two dozen UMass students visited Lambert-Lavoie Memorial Elementary School in Chicopee for the Fun with Food Fest. A collaboration between UMass Dining and ChicopeeFRESH, the event sought to teach 4th and 5th graders about local, healthy food in all sorts of