As with many institutions, feeding a population of thousands of customers is a big production, often requiring the dining service to be run and supplied by large corporations. How can an institution integrate local and organic food when so much of the food is tied to a wholesaler that is not necessarily connected to local farms, and is likely more concerned with quantity and price than with quality and sustainability? SUNY New Paltz’s story involves many different constituents: farmers, students, staff, corporate-run dining service representatives, the USDA, and more. In a collaborative effort, fueled by persistence, the stakeholders worked to bring more local food to the tables of SUNY New Paltz’s dining halls.
How It All Began
SUNY New Paltz’s Environmental Task Force was convened in 2005 under the leadership of long time Environmental Consortium member and professor of sociology, Brian Obach. Along with several colleagues and students, the Task Force brings together many constituents from campus to address environmental concerns. Members of Students for Sustainable Agriculture, as well as the New Paltz Recycling Club, overlap with the Task Force members, creating a wealth of connections and synergies that make the interest and pursuit of sustainable measures possible at New Paltz.
New Paltz students Marigo Farr, Katy Kondrat, and John Wilson co-founded Students for Sustainable Agriculture that same year with a mission to promote a sustainable food system that is healthy for consumers, farm-workers, and the environment. The group has worked tirelessly ever since to bring changes to their campus. Co-founder Marigo Farr remarks, "After approximately 5 years of educating the campus, rounding up support from the student body for a change in food policy, and numerous meetings with Campus Auxiliary Services and Sodexo Corporation, Sodexo approved a new vendor that was capable of providing the university with local food.."
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