New food supplier for Out Back Shack and Oasis
This semester, as you're chowing
down on fruits and veggies
from the Oasis and the Out Back
Shack, you may notice that they
taste a little fresher. That's because
the restaurants have a new produce
supplier and are now starting to
serve more local food.
Brian Harness, the Fanshawe Student Union's food service director, said he met a representative for the new supplier, Don's Produce, while at a Canadian College and University Food Service Association conference. After visiting one of the farms and warehouses, he was impressed by what he saw.
“It seems to be his mandate to do local produce,” he said. “The business is founded on working with growers in and around the Cambridge and Kitchener area.” According to its website, Don's Produce is locally owned and operated, and works with over 40 farmers from the region.
Kelly Hunt, blogger for Eat Local London (www.eatlocallondon.com), has myriad reasons why eating local food is important. “It's a more sustainable way of eating,” she said. According to Hunt, reducing the miles your food has traveled from the farm to your plate also has an enormous impact on the environment. “In the average North American home, when we sit down (or stand) to eat, each ingredient has typically travelled at least 1,500 miles. That is a heck of a lot of carbon!” she wrote on her blog. “By choosing to eat local, you are saving the world's lungs of up to 17 times the oil and gas that would usually be consumed.”
Harness agreed eating local food is a positive change. “It supports the local economy and farmers. We know where it's coming from; we're not shipping it from across the world.”
Students can expect to see some changes in campus restaurants to promote the local food; for example, the Oasis will post a list of available locally grown vegetables at the salad bar so students can be aware of the food choices they make. Some local foods will also be incorporated into existing dishes, such as the onions and peppers on the Out Back Shack's Philly sandwich.
Though the Out Back Shack and the Oasis will be making a more conscious effort to include local food ingredients, Harness acknowledges it is not possible to obtain local produce year-round. “Somewhere along the line we will be bringing in food from other countries,” he explained. “(Some food) may not be local, depending on the time of year.”
Harness said the restaurants are striving to include “As much local food as possible … but (are) not willing to compromise quality to get locally grown.”
Brian Harness, the Fanshawe Student Union's food service director, said he met a representative for the new supplier, Don's Produce, while at a Canadian College and University Food Service Association conference. After visiting one of the farms and warehouses, he was impressed by what he saw.
“It seems to be his mandate to do local produce,” he said. “The business is founded on working with growers in and around the Cambridge and Kitchener area.” According to its website, Don's Produce is locally owned and operated, and works with over 40 farmers from the region.
Kelly Hunt, blogger for Eat Local London (www.eatlocallondon.com), has myriad reasons why eating local food is important. “It's a more sustainable way of eating,” she said. According to Hunt, reducing the miles your food has traveled from the farm to your plate also has an enormous impact on the environment. “In the average North American home, when we sit down (or stand) to eat, each ingredient has typically travelled at least 1,500 miles. That is a heck of a lot of carbon!” she wrote on her blog. “By choosing to eat local, you are saving the world's lungs of up to 17 times the oil and gas that would usually be consumed.”
Harness agreed eating local food is a positive change. “It supports the local economy and farmers. We know where it's coming from; we're not shipping it from across the world.”
Students can expect to see some changes in campus restaurants to promote the local food; for example, the Oasis will post a list of available locally grown vegetables at the salad bar so students can be aware of the food choices they make. Some local foods will also be incorporated into existing dishes, such as the onions and peppers on the Out Back Shack's Philly sandwich.
Though the Out Back Shack and the Oasis will be making a more conscious effort to include local food ingredients, Harness acknowledges it is not possible to obtain local produce year-round. “Somewhere along the line we will be bringing in food from other countries,” he explained. “(Some food) may not be local, depending on the time of year.”
Harness said the restaurants are striving to include “As much local food as possible … but (are) not willing to compromise quality to get locally grown.”
