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Fresh greens from South Glastonbury, CT, apples and pears from an orchard in Meriden, CT, and naturally raised beef from the New England Livestock Alliance. This is not the ingredient list from a high-class restaurant, but a sampling of the selection of locally grown, organic foods offered at Berkeley College, and now at other colleges across campus - thanks to the Yale Sustainable Food Project and increased funding from the University.
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| Romanesco -- a rare vegetable, grown in New England this fall especially for the YSFP and served at Yale's dining halls at Christmas dinner. |
The Yale Sustainable Food Project (YSFP) aims to "nourish a culture in which the interwoven pleasures of growing, cooking, and sharing food become an integral part of each student's experience at Yale." Since 2003, the YSFP has offered an organic menu at Berkeley College. This year, with a 50 percent growth in funds from Yale, the Project has been able to serve organic options to the other residential colleges and thereby meet the Berkeley cafeteria student envy.Last spring, when given the opportunity to dine at any of the colleges for a month, students lined up for organic entrees. Berkeley's cafeteria could not produce grass-fed, hand-shaped burgers or chop onions fast enough to meet that demand! Now students across campus can eat a few local, sustainably produced food items each day in their own dining halls.
Background on the YSFP Development and Growth
The YSFP grew out of student efforts that began in 2000. A student group Food for the Earth, Yale faculty and staff, President Richard Levin, and Alice Waters (the renowned chef from Berkeley, California) founded the Project in 2001. The YSFP has not only brought organic, local options to the table, but also maintains a productive garden on campus and also is bringing teaching about food culture and agriculture into Yale's classrooms.
Building on the success of the Project's test kitchen in Berkeley, rising student demand, and requests for food equity from college masters, the YSFP received additional support from the University. The Project expanded its offerings of organic food to about 90 menu items in the other eleven colleges and Commons beginning in September. To prepare the cooking staff for this change, the YSFP management led the cooks through a five-week training during the summer. The Berkeley cooks, now experienced with using fresh, whole ingredients, coached those from other college kitchens as they prepared recipes together. Because the Berkeley cooking staff had already overcome the "from scratch" component of the Project, they shared tricks that they have learned and mastered over the last few years, such as how to peal garlic faster.
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| Cathy Jones, YSFP head chef, smiles with a student making the most of the organic squash and fresh green options at Yale. |
When offering expansion items on the menus across campus, the YSFP seeks to maintain a standard in terms of food quality and presentation. For instance, the organic pizza in Calhoun should taste and look like that in Timothy Dwight -- just as you expect the same quality at a restaurant regardless of the cook. Cathy Jones, the YSFP Head Chef, explains that creating a standard is not intended to take away from the colleges' unique identities, but to produce uniform food items. She encourages the cooks to be creative in food development, but not in the execution. When an expansion item is on the menu that requires detailed or controlled preparation and presentation, Cathy provides instructions on particular techniques from chopping vegetables to rolling dough.Cook Response to the Expansion
Overall, the cooks have responded well to the introduction of organic, locally grown produce in their kitchens. Some cooks expressed more enthusiasm for the project than others. Lisa Hopkins, who has been cooking with organic foods at Yale for three months now, says she loves it (but she also loves prepping and food service in general). As a result of her involvement with the Project, Lisa eats more vegetables at home and notes that "with organics, the taste is so much better. You can really taste the food."
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Ebony Rambert prepares plated Caesar salads, made with local greens, homemade dressing, and freshly grated Parmesan.
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Ernie Ber, also new to cooking in the YSFP, thinks that organic, natural food is a "good idea," but feels that the recipes are designed more for a 4-star a la carte restaurant where "you eat what you order." The entrees take time to prepare. He suggests that the students do not fully appreciate the labor, and there is a certain amount of waste. In the buffet-style cafeteria, Ernie points out that students "eat with their eyes" (in other words: fill their plates). They end up discarding what they are unable to eat. Despite those concerns, Ernie acknowledges the benefits from Yale purchasing fresh ingredients from one farmer and keeping him/her in business. He said that the "whole university can benefit from this [Project]."
Ebony Rambert, who helps with food preparation at Berkeley, expressed minimal excitement for the YSFP mostly because of the additional work it entails. Since all the produce comes fresh, she explained that they have to "prep everything" from shucking corn, cutting lettuce, washing lettuce, and making their own hummus, mustard, and salads.
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Berkeley cook, Mike Schoen, washes potatoes -- a YSFP necessity when produce comes from local farms.
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It is likely that the cooks may undergo a similar transition as that experienced by the cooks who worked at Berkeley when the Project started over two years ago. It took those cooks some time to warm up to this new--or perhaps old--way of preparing food. They initially found it impractical, but now have a great fondness for this program.
Mike Schoen, who now marks his seventh year cooking at Berkeley and 27th year at Yale, recalls that they went from using ready-made chicken patties and diced vegetables to doing everything from scratch. The cooks were told to think about flavor and taste, rather than speed. Mike explained that it was "tough because they didn't have the labor." Cathy Jones came in a few months after the Project's introduction in the dining hall and energized the cooks. She got them excited about food again. Cathy told them: "there are so many people watching you--you're rock stars!" When you taste the fresh dishes coming out of these college kitchens, you realize that indeed these cooks are rock stars.
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Aldo Gargameli makes risotto -- a first for a Yale dining hall.
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Soon, Mike and others realized that they could experiment and were trusted as chefs. If they needed dill for a recipe, Cathy would get them dill. Once a year, the chefs and cooks get together and review Gourmet and other cooking magazines to select seasonal menus for the year.
Aldo Gargameli, another cook who has been at Berkeley since the Project began, says "I love it [the organic cooking]!" He explained that it was a rough adjustment at first, but now he only buys organic eggs and milk and antibiotic free chicken for his own home. Aldo notes that the Project opened his eyes to health concerns related to food. Now he is trying to change his sister's attitudes toward food.
Benefits of Relationships with Local Farmers
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An example of recipe tweaking by the cooks. The Project allows them to add their own creativity in the kitchen.
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Just as the University as a whole benefits from the YSFP, local farmers appreciate it as well. In fact, the Project "pumps money into the local economy." Local farmers know that Yale is committed to purchasing a certain share of their food from local, organic farmers. Because of this, Yale has made long-term agreements with farmers.Cathy explained that the Project directors were able to encourage a local apple grower to invest in a power washer by promising to buy enough apples from him to pay for that outlay. Yale has committed to buying six cuts of meat from one butcher (and thereby preventing wasted cow meat), and has convinced Connecticut growers to produce Brussel sprouts in order to avoid trucking them in from California. A local grower planted four acres especially for Yale to make the Project's now famous organic salsa.
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Lisa Hopkins prepares the unusual romanesco dish for Berkeley's Christmas dinner.
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The ability of these small-scale farmers to rely on Yale as a primary customer helps them grow and sustain themselves. They can now spend less on marketing, which translates into lower costs for the Yale Dining Services.
For the Yale College Christmas dinner this year, the YSFP featured a rare and remarkable vegetable, called romanesco. This nutty tasting cauliflower-like vegetable grows in a short three week season. The Project had farmers in New England growing it especially for Yale. Because romanesco is hard to find and grow, and the rain slowed its harvest this fall, Yale cooks treated it lovingly as they prepared it for an amazing college student feast.
The Project avoids foods that do not match the program's organic, natural, local goals. It avoids produce grown outside New England, like pomegranates and avocados. But when certain food items are in season, the cooks and chefs go crazy, according to Cathy Jones. This explains why the Berkeley buffet features large amounts of butternut squash in the late fall, but students must wait for next September for the delicious heirloom tomatoes.Growth in the Study and Appreciation of Food On Campus
Despite all the attention given to reforming and "revolutionalizing" the age-old cafeteria lunch, it is important to note that the YSFP expansion is not only about the inclusion of organic entrees at the dining halls. It also involves expansion of teaching on food into the classroom and student life. As Josh Viertal, YSFP Associate Director, explains, Yale is more than just what it buys, but also "what the university produces" in terms of future leaders. Through expanding students' holistic thinking related to agriculture and sustainable food culture, the University has the opportunity to shape the types of leaders it develops. Josh and Melina Shannon-DiPietro, the other YSFP Associate Director, point out that "what's in the classroom compliments what's going on in practice [dining halls and organic farms]."
Professors across multiple disciplines, including psychology, biology, and political science departments, now offer courses on food related topics. Psychology Professor Kelly Brownell taught The Psychology, Biology, and Politics of Food in the Fall 2004 semester. Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology Professor Mary Goldsmith will teach Scientific Bases of Sustainable Agriculture (EVST 325 01 (21551) /F&ES571/MCDB235) this spring semester. Also this spring, the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies will offer: Agroforestry Systems: Productivity, Environmental Services, and Rural Development (F&ES 592) taught by Professor Florencia Montagnini, and World Agriculture and the Environment (F&ES 875) taught by the Dean of the Forestry School, Gus Speth, and Lecturer Jason Clay. World Food Issues (PLSC 426) will be taught by Harry Blair, Senior Research Scholar & Lecturer in the Political Science Department. The Divinity School is also considering a course on food and religion.
In addition to learning in the classroom, many students get hands on experience in the YSFP"s very own garden. The garden is located on Edwards between Whitney and Prospect. During the school year, students volunteer in the garden; in the spring, the YSFP accepts interns. As Josh explains, these students either express a serious interest in learning about agriculture or they enjoy simply gardening. Working in the garden or spending time there allows students and staff to connect with sustainability in a unique way. On Fridays, students and staff harvest crops for New Haven"s Saturday morning farmers market in Wooster Square. When the weather warms up, students are welcome to enjoy pizza (made in the new wood-fired stove) amidst the rows of vegetables on Friday nights from 5-7 pm.
Leading to Culture Change
The Yale Sustainable Food Project has changed the culture of food at Yale over the last five years"from the dining halls, to student life, and now even the classroom. Through this program, Yale has the opportunity to present itself as a model for other schools. In the last few years, sustainable food has actually factored into students" decisions to come to Yale.
As Josh and Melina point out, the "great thing about food is that doing the right thing, tastes better." Sustainable food is healthier, more flavorful, fresher, and makes you feel good. Who wouldn't eat to that!
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