Eat locally

School aiming to eat local

Skidmore buying from area farms

Reprinted with permission from the Daily Gazette, September 15, 2007

By Lee Coleman
Skidmore College is purchasing more local produce in answer to ongoing requests from students to buy local, organic foods.

"We are trying to showcase more local products," said executive chef Jim Rose.

For example, the college's newly renovated and expanded dining hall buys produce and some meats from a list of 15 local farms.

On Friday, students lined up outside the Skidmore bookstore to buy locally made cider doughnuts, apples and produce from Saratoga Apple of Schuylerville.

At one point, the doughnuts ran out and Saratoga Apple had to bring dozens more to the college, said Christine Goud of Saratoga Apple.

"We had to bring a couple more trays," Goud said.

"We also sold a lot of apples and a surprising amount of produce," said John Neil, Skidmore's assistant business services director. Neil is in charge of the bookstore.

John Batch, Skidmore's interim director of dining services, said the college has a list of 15 local produce and meat vendors.

"We try to buy local as much as we can," Batch said. "It's safer and tastes better."

Skidmore buys 12 to 15 cases of apples weekly from Saratoga Apple all year long, he said. The college also buys apples and cider from Lakeside Farm in Ballston Lake. Batch said he has talked to other colleges and they are also trying to buy more local produce.

He said Middlebury College in Vermont, for example, has its own greenhouse where it grows tomatoes and lettuce year-round.

He said Skidmore is interested in learning more about the greenhouse at Middlebury.

Several years ago, a group of environment-minded Skidmore students started something they called "The D-Hall Revolution."

"We are a group of students dedicated to bringing local and organic food to Skidmore's dining hall," says a 2005 statement from these students.

The group's mission was to encourage Skidmore to consider the human and environmental health factor when making its purchases by buying organic products when feasible.

Executive chef Rose said the college purchases organic products from organic farms such as the Rutkowski farm in Ballston Spa. This farm provides the college with heirloom tomatoes for the vegetarian station in the college's dining hall, he said.

"Food safety is a key concern now," Rose said. "That's why we are all interested in promoting local.

"We have to know the farm is safe," he said about the college's local providers.

However, Rose said there is a cost factor to consider, especially when buying locally produced meats and poultry. He said these items are sometimes two or three times more expensive than meats offered by more standard suppliers.

"It's a challenge we face," Rose said. "It's a balance."

Rose said he attended a conference of college chefs from across the country and "sustainability" was a lead topic. The chefs all discussed the challenge of buying from local farms.

Rose said he talks to the chef at Union College in Schenectady from time to time, and Union is doing some of the same things that Skidmore is doing.

Neil said a student named Jonathan Greene, who graduated this spring, was instrumental in getting the college to start thinking about buying local four years ago.

Neil said Greene convinced the college to start buying apples at Saratoga Apple rather than from long-distance apple suppliers.

"We are always looking for local produce," Batch said. "It helps the economy of the area and is better and quicker."

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2007 the Daily Gazette