The director of the University of Massachusetts Dining Services, Ken Toong, received two awards on Friday, Sept. 26, recognizing his support of local agriculture.
A celebration was held in the Berkshire Dining Commons, where Massachusetts Commissioner of Agriculture Doug Petersen presented Toong with the state's Faces of Agriculture Award for his support of sustainable agriculture in Massachusetts.
Toong also received the 2008 Blue Ribbon Award from Amherst-based nonprofit Farm to School Project for encouraging connections between farms and schools. State Rep. Ellen Story presented the award.
"I am very honored to win these two awards. It is humbling to be recognized by the state," said Toong.
The celebration was a culmination of the second annual Massachusetts Harvest for Students Week, Sept. 22-26. The menus of schools, colleges and universities around the state featured local produce. The goal of the Harvest Week, instituted last year by Gov. Deval Patrick, was to encourage "new buying relationships" between farms and schools. UMass Dining Commons took part in the event by showcasing the produce of 15 local farms, including Cook's Honey in Belchertown and Mapeline Farm in Hadley.
Currently, UMass buys approximately $250,000 worth of produce from local farmers, approximately 20 percent of all food bought by the campus.
"We're going to keep trying to improve and even increase the local foods we use this year to 25 percent. This is something the whole university community is proud of," Toong said.
Since 2002, Toong has been working to increase the amount of local produce that the campus purchases, and he hopes to continue increasing UMass' use of local produce in the future.
"Last year we really took action, we have a passion for the project. Our attitude is 'Let's do it.' Let's use as much local produce as possible," Toong said.
UMass buys a variety of produce from local farmers including potatoes, carrots, bean sprouts and broccoli, as well as dairy products like milk and ice cream. The campus has also started to purchase local jam, honey and maple syrup.
Toong refuted the idea that buying locally was less cost effective.
"It's a myth that buying local is more expensive. The prices are very comparable." he said.
Buying locally grown produce does not simply benefit local industry, although that is a strong motivation for Toong's initiative to buy locally. UMass buys produce directly from farmers, so local farms receive all of the profits. He explained that students want better quality food, and that buying locally means the produce is fresher. Also, buying produce closer to campus means that UMass can reduce its carbon footprint.
Toong's efforts to increase the connections between UMass and local farms are part of a larger effort across the state by schools to support local agriculture.
"For more than the 60 Massachusetts family farms providing their products directly to schools, the farm to school connection is generating more than $700,000 in additional revenues each year," Commissioner Peterson explained.
Niina Heikkinen can be reached at nheikkin@student.umass.edu.
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