APRIL 9TH, 2018 FARM & SEA TO CAMPUS FORUM Menuing for a Regional Food System
OUTLINE I. II. III. IV. V. VI. Photo courtesy of Intervale Food Hub INTRODUCTION SPEAKER #1 - MIKE WEBSTER SPEAKER #2 - MARY REILLY SPEAKER #3 - DAVID GOULD Q&A CONCLUSION
ABOUT FINE Our mission is to mobilize the power of regional institutions to transform our food system www.farmtoinstitution.org
ABOUT THE CAMPUS NETWORK The New England Farm & Sea to Campus Network is a community of higher education and food systems stakeholders who connect, share, and collaborate to develop transparent regional supply chains and educate campus communities about regional food systems.
FACILITATORS Mike Zastoupil Holly Fowler Kaitlin Haskins Farm & Sea to Campus Coordinator Farm to Institution New England mike@farmtoinst.org CEO & Co-Founder Northbound Ventures holly@northboundventures.com Communications Manager Farm to Institution New England kaitlin@farmtoinst.org
SPEAKERS Mary Reilly Mike Webster David Gould Executive Chef Westfield State University mreilly@westfield.ma.edu General Manager The Hotchkiss School mwebster@hotchkiss.org Executive Chef Rhode Island School of Design dgould@risd.edu
SPEAKER #1: MIKE WEBSTER
ABOUT MY OPERATION Institution Name: The Hotchkiss School Location and Description: Lakeville, CT Customer Participation: 1050 community participants Outsourced / Self-Op: Sodexo Local/Regional Food Involvement: Students: Fairly well engaged with dining ed., Farm, Classroom, Clubs Faculty/Staff: Very supportive of local Dining Team: 50/50, Some care a lot, others can t be bothered.
MENUS AT HOTCHKISS Quality over Quantity: Focus on Quality of Local products Health & Nutrition: Modeling healthy diet Whole Animal Program: Buy food, then write menu - keeps seasonal & fresh Regional Supply Chain: Develop relationships with regional producers, help them to better meet your needs and expectations. Managing Expectations: Keep it simple & tasty. Educate the community on why Regional Foods matter.
CHALLENGES Seasons: Pre-season Farmer meetings, buy what s available, low volume/high impact items (potatoes, grains, legumes) Sourcing: Go to Farmers markets, Network with farmers, build relationships Cost: Blended burgers, plant based proteins, highlight & focus on local Recipes: Develop recipes that tasty, simple, and diverse in application. Use ratios for easy scaling & diversity of application Lemon Vin: Poultry, vegetable marinade, salad dressing, finishing for cooked veg. 5% salt brine: lacto-fermented veg; Pickles, garlic, beans, kraut, radish, carrots
Sample Menu
SPEAKER #2: MARY REILLY
ABOUT MY OPERATION Institution Name: Westfield State University Location and Description: Westfield, MA (Western Massachusetts) Customer Participation: 4700 students, 66% participation in meal plan (FY17) Outsourced / Self-Op: Self-Operated (as of FY17) Local/Regional Food Involvement: Students: Somewhat engaged. Still in the learning/education phase Dining Team: 50/50 - many are excited about the potential for local food, but we have a way to go to get everyone on board.
THE ENVIRONMENT Daily Volume: 6000 meals per day Employees: 250 staff (mix of full-time, part-time, students) One Dining Commons Many Stations Chef s Table, Deli, Grill, Allergen-Free, Daily Specialty Item (3 items over 2 meal periods), Pizza, Pasta, Tex-Mex, Stir Fry, Sushi Five Retail Locations, Bake Shop, Catering Menu Planning: Four-Week menu cycle, planning 3-4 weeks ahead
WHAT S OUR LOCAL? Local 250-mile radius from campus Current Spend 23% of Dining Commons food spending, up from 13% at start of FY17
HOW DO WE DO IT? Menuing Create spots in menu cycle for local vegetables, fruit, meat, and fish Standard Items Look for items served every day and see where tweaks are possible
SUCCESSES Stir Fry Station Partnership with Northeast Family Farms Swapped from Australian-raised grass-fed beef Current utilization: 280 pounds per week Cost of new product: $6.81 per pound vs. $7.15 per pound for Australian beef
SUCCESSES Salad Bar Switched to Little Leaf Farms from California-grown mesclun for mixed lettuce Current utilization: 84 pounds per week Cost of new product: $10 per pound vs. $8 per pound for California-grown
SUCCESSES Fish Use Red s Best Catch of the Day program Current utilization: 100-150 pounds per week Cost of new product: Locked at $5.75 per pound vs. variable pricing
EASY WINS Two Easy Switches (with a caveat about equipment) Fluid Milk Fluid milk is nearly always local Cage-Free Eggs Better quality than liquid Need an egg cracker for them to be a possibility
SPEAKER #3: DAVID GOULD
ABOUT MY OPERATION Institution Name: Rhode Island School of Design Location and Description: Providence, RI (urban campus); 2 residential venues (1 AYCTE), 1 bake shop, 2 cafés, full service Catering division + food truck Customer Participation: 2,400 students enrolled; 1,485 beds on campus; 1,631 students on meal plan Outsourced / Self-Op: Self-Op Local/Regional Involvement: Students: Gen X=Largely passionate about sourcing & sustainability (as long as they can get tomatoes in February) Dining Team: 60% yay/40% nay: dynamic culinarians vs. but that s not how we ve always done it tenured staff
CORE VALUES: BUILD IT IN RELATIONSHIPS INGREDIENTS SUSTAINABILITY DESIGN We foster relationships with New England farmers, artisans and vendors. We design our menus to showcase locally-sourced, seasonal ingredients. We support the long-term sustainability of our communities. HOW?
BARE NECESSITIES 1. Find the foodies on Campus: create buzz, be proactive, start a club, network with faculty + bigwigs, fill a need 2. Design training systems that speak your language + build it into department culture a. Inspire, educate + empower existing staff b. Distribute consistent talking points c. Prioritize truth-in-menuing, appropriate menu verbiage + marketing opportunities therein d. Seek out passionate culinarians, look to culinary schools for temp labor e. Refocus hiring strategies on food + hospitality
BARE NECESSITIES 3. 4. 5. Be flexible + strategic in budgeting a. Think in terms of big picture/ not line-by-line, day-by-day b. Use data to forecast purchasing needs + pre-buy in bulk Build relationships with farmers, vendors, peer schools/programs + nonprofits Design menu rotations with recipes-in-recipes to allow flexibility with seasonal changes YOU NEED LEGIT BUY-IN Host events: bring in farmers + fisherman to tell their story Menu dishes that highlight their ingredients Social media: hashtags, insta-worthy, Food Day RA s are Ambassadors
Q&A
KEEP IN TOUCH CONTACT Mike Zastoupil Farm & Sea to Campus Program Interim Coordinator Farm to Institution New England mike@farmtoinst.org JOIN THE CAMPUS DINING LISTSERV https://www.farmtoinstitution.org/fine-campus-dinin g-operators-listserv CONNECT WITH FINE Photo courtesy of Intervale Food Hub
THANKS FOR JOINING! Photo: Hampshire College