Expanding connections: Marketing farm to cafeteria in the Finger Lakes foodshed

Expanding connections: Marketing farm to cafeteria in the Finger Lakes foodshed

Summary

This is a highly collaborative project amongst several farmers, Seeking Common Ground, a food service manager, and our county Cooperative Extension, that connects the farmers and institutions in our Foodshed. Through direct contact and continued consultation with non-participating farmers and institutions, we are building new farmer-consumer relationships while at the same time increasing demand for local foods in cafeterias and raising awareness of why such foods should be served. When we initially began the project, our focus was on school cafeterias, however, we have begun working with our regional colleges, elder care facilities, and county programs.

This year we reached out and made connections with eight new institutions including four colleges and Universities, two elder care facilities, and two county programs. Four new farms in our Foodshed are now participating with local institutions and connections with farms that had participated previously were strengthened further. We promoted local produce and farms with institutions by facilitating a spring berry and cream program and a fall harvest dinner. These promotions were highly successful and allowed us to discuss the use of local produce with participating food service managers.

Objectives/Performance Targets

• Increase the amount of local food served in regional cafeterias.

  Coordinate a minimum of four new farmer-consumer relationships that continue year after year and benefit the local economy.

  Decrease or eliminate barriers faced by institutional cafeterias in regards to local purchasing.

  Educate the public (diners, parents, students, etc) about the benefits of eating fresh, locally farmed produce through letters/editorials/articles/PSAs.

  Develop a “How To Get Started” publication as an educational tool for people interested in creating Farm to Cafeteria programs in other counties/states.

Accomplishments/Milestones

The Farm to Cafeteria program is moving forward with positive results. We have reached 8 new institutions:

County Programs

· The Ontario County Office for the Aging
· The Ontario County Health Facility

Elder Care Facilities

· Ferris Hills Independent Senior Living
· Clark Meadows Enriched Senior Living

Colleges and Universities

· Finger Lakes Community College
· Hobart and William Smith Colleges
· Wells College
· Keuka College

Progress in making location food connections in each institution is as follows:

The Ontario County Office for the Aging and Health Facility

To date, the Ontario County Office for the Aging and Health Facility have purchased over $250 in local produce, both through direct contact with farmers and by request through their distributor. Farm to Cafeteria promoted strawberries in the spring, blueberries in the summer, and grapes and hardy vegetables in the fall. Though the programs have limited budgets, the food service directors, especially those of the Office for the Aging, are willing to and interested in purchasing locally on a more regular basis. For each of the three seasons, Farm to Cafeteria penned a letter for the Office for the Aging, which was sent to all of the diners, informing them of the local, seasonal produce that would be served.

Ferris Hills and Clark Meadows

Ferris Hills and Clark Meadows purchased $80 of local strawberries. Feedback indicated that the residents were very pleased with the fresh, local fruit.

Finger Lakes Community College

Finger Lakes Community College, of Canandaigua, purchased $298 of local produce, which was served for lunch on one specific day, October 22, 2008, Campus Sustainability Day. Steve Miller, the Food Service Director, stated that “[the lunch] went very well. I would like to do this every year.”

Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Hobart and William Smith Colleges, of Geneva, purchased $1,011.25 of local produce, which was also served on one night, also October 22, 2008, for their Homegrown Harvest Dinner. Farm to Cafeteria tabled at that dinner, and informed many students of the program and what it takes to make such connections. We received much feedback from the students, mainly that the food was substantially better with the fresher ingredients. Also interesting, the cafeteria staff who served the meal were very proud of the local produce and were quick to talk up the food.

Wells College

Wells College, of Aurora, purchased $414.50 in local produce, also for a single evening meal, similar to the Homegrown Harvest, on October 23, 2008. Todd Corcoran, the Dining Hall manager, explained that, “the Harvest event went very well. The students really liked the idea of using all local produce. I am a big supporter of using local foods, I would like to do it again.”

Keuka College

Keuka College, of Penn Yan, also hosted a Harvest meal on October 22, 2008. Farm to Cafeteria does not yet have the dollar amount for the local produce purchased. Tim Knowles, the Dining Hall Manager, wrote that, “the dinner went well. I think the students are appreciative of these kinds of events more than they let on. Thank you for your effort. I think we are going in the right direction with these awareness pieces. It may take a while for the impact but I believe it is worth the effort.” Rebecca Dillon, the production Supervisor, wrote that, “[it] was a wonderful Dinner. We [received] many good comments.”

We expect 2009 purchases to be significantly higher than the initial 2008 purchases due to the now existing connections to local farmers that were recently created.

We have not yet published any articles/PSAs per our grant proposal, however we will publish five between now and the end of June. Our information is posted on the Cornell University Farm to School Research and Extension Program website, the Ontario County CCE website, and the Seeking Common Ground website.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Outreach

Farm to Cafeteria tabled at the Western NY SAMPO (State Municipal Purchasing Officials) Conference in Niagara Falls, in October. We met many of the state purchasers, and discussed with them the idea of buying local, and how that might work in their districts. Mary Miller, the Penfield Schools Purchasing Agent, was very interested. We facilitated a connection between Mary Beth Walker, who is in charge of the Penfield Muscles in Motion program – a grant intended to foster healthy eating and activity for kids – and Foodlink and Freshlink Farms, also located in Penfield. We will continue to stay in contact with Penfield schools in 2009 to assist as much as possible with any local purchasing.

Farm Connections

Aside from Freshlink Farms, there were four new farms vending to the new institutions: Tomions Farm Market, Penn Yan; Bob-Mar Farms, Bloomfield; James Sheppard Farm, Clifton Springs; and Seneca Vegetables, Hall. The farms that had already been selling to institutional cafeterias, and which continued selling to institutions both new and old, were: Gale-Wyn Farms, Canandaigua; Pedersen Farms, Seneca Castle; Happy Goat Farm, Naples; Red Jacket Orchards, Geneva; and Barron’s Pratt Barn and Vineyard, Canandaigua. Also, the three original school districts that we worked with, Victor, Geneva, and Bloomfield, are continuing to expand their purchasing from our previous SARE grant and are incorporating a larger variety of local fruits and vegetables into their cafeteria menus.

Other Successes

The Sodexo Corporation manages all Keuka, Hobart and William Smith, and Wells College dining halls. Due to insurance complications and corporate policy, it has been very difficult for these institutions to purchase local produce. A fourth year student at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Rayza Santiago, contacted us after viewing our information on the Cooperative Extension Farm to School site. Due to her initial interest, we were motivated to try again with Sodexo. The dinners were successful and will certainly be requested by the students in the future.

Collaborators: