Skidmore College - Scope Magazine Spring 2019

19 SKIDMORE COLLEGE J essica Ndrianasy ’20 recently earned first prize in the Kenneth A. Freirich Business Plan Competition for a Madagascar agribusi- ness providing top-quality, organic produce that prioritizes the hiring of unemployed women. The company will sell crops such as rice, legumes and veg- etables to upscale restaurants and hotels in Madagascar and export vanilla, essential oils and spices. The goal of the venture is to provide workers with modern farming training and education for their children. Some of the crops will be for workers’ own consumption. Ndrianasy’s proposal for her business, Ndriana Agro, stood out, but her focus on food reflects a broader interest on campus — and across the globe — in food, and recognition of its centrality to the human experience, its relationship to well-being and sustainability, and its overlap with broader social and economic issues. In recent years, multiple entries in the contest have centered on food, from a proposal to expand the shipping of non-GMO seeds to people in need around the world to a winning kombucha business pro- posed by Graham Gilmore ’18 in last year’s competition. Skidmore alumni have long pursued a range of innovative ap- proaches to food, from offering local, sustainable products to tack- ling questions related to food insecurity. (See “Recipes for Success” for five alumni profiles.) That’s no surprise, since Skidmore’s cur- riculum fosters entrepreneurial thinking. Now, Skidmore’s dining hall might be inspiring future food leaders, too. Skidmore’s Murray-Aikins Dining Hall embodies the spirit of Creative Thought Matters. Renovated in 2008, the dining hall has stepped up its offerings of fresh, local and sustainable products. It even gets some of its produce from Skidmore’s campus garden, which is student-run. At the same time, it is continually updating its menu to reflect the needs and interests of its diners. This semester, it went tree-nut free in response to increasing challenges associated with food allergies. It continues to expand its offerings — from vegan fare to comfort food for international students — to respond to Skidmore’s increasingly diverse community. And, of course, there are the beloved theme nights. The annual Harvest Dinner showcases local ingredients, including some from the campus gar- den. Students helped develop the Chinese New Year Dinner menu. Harry Potter, Dr. Seuss and Game of Thrones dinners are popular among students, faculty, staff, students and even the broader Saratoga Springs community. Sustainability is an essential part of the dining hall’s mission. Student workers — supported by the Sustainability Office and Environmental Stud- ies and Sciences Program— are collaborating on green food initiatives. The dining hall is equipped with solar panels and also diverts more than 10,000 pounds of food waste each month from landfills by composting. (Food is also the center of several student-run advocacy groups. Feedmore collects surplus food and donates it to a local food pantry; Challah for Hunger and FeelGood sell bread and grilled-cheese sandwiches, respec- tively, to raise money to fight world hunger.) But the dining hall isn’t just doing good things, it’s serving great food. In January, Skidmore’s Dining Services picked up its sixth consecutive gold medal for culinary excellence in an American Culinary Federation- Food in focus Skidmore is advancing its creative mission through innovative approaches to food, with its award-winning dining hall, sustainability initiatives, careers and the cross-disciplinary research that is at the heart of the Center for Integrated Sciences. F O O D F O R C R E A T I V E T H O U G H T Christopher Massa