Unity students in the lab

Mainecoastnow 

Unity College promotes locally grown produce
Dining program works with Maine farmers, co-ops 

By Tom Seymour
(Created: Thursday, January 24, 2008 8:09 AM EST)

UNITY — Back in 2001, the Sustainability Committee at Unity College in Unity, made the decision to serve as much locally grown food as possible.

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The Unity College Dining Service crew is hard at work preparing lunch in the kitchen. TOM SEYMOUR
“Eat local” is the motto grounded in the belief that organizations such as Unity College have an obligation to conserve precious natural resources. Buying and eating locally grown produce translates into fewer miles traveled, less fuel expended.

Unity College currently includes about 20 percent of Maine-produced food on its menu. This consists of in-season fruits and vegetables from nearby producers, as well as Maine products from other suppliers around the state. For instance, French fries and hash browns are supplied by McCain Foods of Easton, organic granola from Gandy Oats in Brownfield, hormone-free dairy products from Oakhurst Dairy, ice cream from Giffords, which uses milk and cream only from Maine dairies, and blueberries, raspberries and cranberries from Wymans in Milbridge. Also, Crown of Maine, a statewide food co-op, supplies the college with a wide variety of organic produce.

In season, Unity’s dining service crew buys as much local produce as possible. A good deal of it comes directly from outlets in Unity. Also, Unity College has just this past season, begun buying from Sky View Farm in Montville. This is in addition to tomatoes and other seasonal goods grown in the college’s own vegetable garden. Finally, Unity College always buys lobster and other seafood from Young’s Seafood in Belfast.

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Waiting for the lunch crowd to arrive at the Unity College dining hall. TOM SEYMOUR
Director of Dining Services Sandy Donahue pointed out that while salad ingredients are always welcomed, the college gardens have taken a new direction. From now on, the main goal is to concentrate upon root crops such as potatoes, carrots and so on, as well as winter squash. They have one thing in common. They are all “keeper” vegetables and will last well into winter for use in the college dining room.

Meat, poultry and eggs, however, are somewhat difficult to find locally on a large scale, at least at wholesale rates. Also, products such as eggs present salmonella problems, so Unity College purchases eggs from commercial outlets.

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Apples are among the types of Maine produce served at Unity College.
Mark Tardiff, director of college communications, says Unity has “a valuable story to share about the current alternatives to corporate, cookie-cutter dining services at colleges.”

Tardiff is proud of Unity’s in-house, college-owned dining service. He considers Unity’s direction a better way for any and all dining services.

“We are extremely serious about buying local and consider some of this to directly tie in with our sustainability goals,” Tardiff said.

As further proof of the college’s dedication to sustainability, Donahue mentioned that the dining crew saves all the used oil from their commercial-style fryers. It is drained into containers and placed where students can drive up to it with their cars. But these are not just any cars. Several Unity College students own and operate cars that use recycled cooking oil. This practice of saving oil is a win-win situation for all involved.

Donahue also said that the student center, which is in a different location from the main dining hall, uses vegetables grown in a hoop house on campus. These are used for a variety of daily specials.

Unity College has come a long way from the early days when it first began composting kitchen scraps for use in the college’s garden. Given the magnitude that has been accomplished, and the rate at which these accomplishments have occurred, it is a safe bet Unity College will continue to be a trendsetter for sustainability.