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 Kendall Foundation awarded UMass Dining two grants, one in 2014 and the second in January of 2016 to support this goal. Specifically, UMass Dining is using the most recent grant to expand purchasing of lean, local proteins and to establish a way for people off campus to have access to healthy, affordable meals.
In an effort to become a more replicable model to regional institutions, UMass Dining invited foodservice directors from Chicopee and Hartford Public Schools to assess viable purchasing options best suited to their needs. UMass Dining has a history of working with Chicopee Public Schools, a sister grantee of the Kendall Foundation.
We would like to thank the Kendall Foundation for their continued support. Learn more about the Kendall Foundation and their mission to improve access and affordability to local food in New England here.