From buying local and organic foods to minimizing waste through composting, Middlebury Dining administrators and staff continue to initiate sustainable practices on the Middlebury campus. Their leadership in developing these sustainable practices makes Dining Services here at Middlebury a model and resource for other schools.
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Local & Organic |
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Middlebury places a strong emphasis on local and organic food. Middlebury sources its food from Burlington Foodservice Co. (member of Reinhart Foodservice), which regularly supplies the college with food products from 47 Vermont food producers. Dinning Services also purchase small amounts of fresh produce from the student run organic garden. More...
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Compost & Reducing Waste |
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Dining Services and Facilities Management works together to divert nearly 300 tons of food waste each year from the landfill to compost for use around campus. Additionally, the Nordic Ski team uses waste vegetable oil from the dining halls to fuel their biodiesel truck. More...
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Green Kitchens and Design |
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As with other new construction on the Middlebury campus, both Atwater and Ross dining halls were built using sustainable practices including, FSC certified wood, storage for food waste and recyclables, low flow faucets, and energy efficient lighting. More...
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Learning Opportunities |
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Dinning Services works with faculty and students to further learning opportunities related to food. This collaboration includes working with the organic garden and assisting in a project to map the distance food travels to reach Middlebury dining halls. More... |
With Dining Services providing upwards of 7,000 meals a day, and working from a food budget of $3.9 million dollars, there is a lot of food to order. Charlie Sargent, chief purchaser for Dining Services, is committed to building relationships that support local food producers. The college's most recent food vendor bid request emphasized Middlebury Dining's commitment to purchasing locally produced products. In the bid letter announcement it specifically states "Middlebury College Dining Services strives to support the local economy by purchasing locally produced products and some items will be specified as such."
Burlington Foodservice Co. (member of Reinhart Foodservice), was awarded this bid and regularly supplies the college with food products from 47 Vermont food producers.
Middlebury also incorporates organic products on an ongoing basis into the campus cuisine. Dining Services works directly with farmers and local produce distributors to increase the amount of local produce used in the dining halls, recognizing the potential income they can offer farmers by steering more of the College's annual produce purchases toward local growers. They also work with the Middlebury College Organic Garden to purchase seasonal fruits and vegetables.
Locally grown and in-season fruits and vegetables, maple syrup and local dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt and ice cream are regularly provided in the dining halls.
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On a national average, food waste comprises upwards of 7% of the municipal solid waste stream. But not at Middlebury College. A collaborative effort between Dining Services and Facilities Management turns nearly 300 tons of food waste into rich piles of compost for use in greenhouses and gardens, and as soil amendment on campus. Food prep scraps, postconsumer food residuals, waxed cardboard, paper towels, napkins and food prep waste paper --some 70% of the College's food waste -- is composted. Plate waste (post consumer food residuals) is run through a pulper to remove excess water.
Even when Dining Services moves outdoors for picnics or large College celebrations, the compost program maintains momentum. Approximately 90% of the waste generated by these large outdoor events goes directly into the College's composting system instead of the landfill. Paper plates, napkins, paper cups and biodegradable trash bag liners are all compostable. Depending on the event, Dining Services determines the feasibility of using silverware instead of plastic whenever possible. In the past the College used biodegradable utensils made from cornstarch; however, the product line was discontinued.
Another way to reduce food waste is biodiesel. The Nordic Ski Team partners with Dining Services to use waste vegetable oil to fuel their biodiesel truck. Since there is more veggie oil than the ski team can use, Recycling and Waste Management sells the excess oil for biodiesel off-campus.
To decrease the use of disposable cups on campus, everyone is encouraged to bring their own mugs for their take-out beverage needs. When you bring your own mug, dining services will only charge for a small coffee/tea.
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As with other new construction on the Middlebury campus, both Atwater and Ross dining halls were built using wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council as well as other sustainable practices including storage for food waste and recyclables, low flow faucets, and energy efficient lighting.
Atwater’s most notable feature is its green roof, which uses shrubs and grasses to cover the roof. This increases storm water retention, improves insulation, provides moderate replacement to lost habitat. Because native plants species are used, maintenance of this system is minimal. The green roof also protects the waterproofing on the roof from ultraviolet radiation, prolonging the lifespan of the waterproofing system.
In Ross variable speed fans over the stoves sense heat and smoke thereby increasing or decreasing the hood exhaust rate as needed to conserve electricity. Also, heat generated from the motors of the compressors for the walk-in coolers and freezers is used to heat the mechanical workroom. When air conditioning is required, sensors allow an automatic adjustment of the pump speed as the demand for cooling falls.
Vermont furniture manufacturers made chairs, tables and display units from locally harvested, certified wood for use in the Ross Commons dining hall and study lounges. An exhibit highlighting the use of local wood used including the harvesting, processing, and installation of the paneling, flooring and furniture is located in the dining hall.
With the opening of Ross Dining, Dining Services invested in equipment to undertake laundry services in-house. Matt Biette, Director of Dining Services, was awarded a campus Environmental Grant to partially fund the inclusion of a water recycling device on the washing machine. Due to the deep soiling of aprons and chef jackets, each load of laundry generated in the dining halls goes through two wash and rinse cycles (wash, rinse, wash, rinse). The water recycler captures the rinse water that is then reheated with a steam injector for the next wash cycle. For every load of dining's laundry, two potential inputs of new water are avoided through the installation of the water recycling equipment.
Since 2003 Dining Services has worked with the Middlebury College Organic Garden. This student-initiated garden sells small quantities of freshly harvested produce throughout the growing months to Dining Services, who continue their operations for the renowned Language Schools offered at Middlebury throughout the summer.
Dinning Service’s has partnered with Champlain Orchards to explore the use of greenhouses to provide local fruits and vegetables during winter months, and offer students a resource for research opportunities.
Linking academics to operations, Dining Services worked with students and faculty to map the distance food travels from farm to plate. Using Google Earth, this group mapped the ingredients of specific Middlebury meals, including the chicken parmesan dinner.
Other classroom links to food occur in the Environmental Studies Senior Seminar (ES 401) projects. Recent projects focusing on locally grown food include:
- Eating Local in Addison County: A Cookbook and Directory
- Local Food and the Cornwall Elementary School
- Got Local? The State of Local Food Production and Distribution in Addison County
- A Multimedia Production and Economic Analysis in Support of Local Foods for Institutions
In addition, a 2002 ES 401 project included the development of certified wood framed posters for the dining halls that showcase the Vermont-based farms and food manufacturing sites.
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Other Projects
Biodiesel
Ron Schildge '03 received a campus Environmental Grant from the Environmental Council in 2001 to research the feasibility of converting waste vegetable oil from the kitchens into biodiesel fuel. Dining Services generates about 40 gallons of waste vegetable oil per week that was managed through the compost system. In 2002, with the support of Dining Services, Ron processed several gallons of biodiesel fuel that he used in his own 1990 VW Diesel Jetta. Gaining further support through a Campus Ecology Fellowship in 2002 from the National Wildlife Federation, Ron expanded his partnership to include Dining Services, Facilities Management and the Patricia Hannaford Career Center (the local vocational technical high school) to produce biodiesel for testing in some of the diesel run college equipment (that annually consume over 7000 gallons of diesel fuel). Ron also taught classes on alternative energy at the Hannaford Center and worked with high school students on special projects related to this topic.
In 2003, several students, including Thomas Hand '05 and Logan Duran '05 worked with Ross Dining staff to set up a filtering system for the waste fryer vegetable oil that, with some adjustments to their vehicles, allowed them to run on what is known as straight vegetable oil (SVO). These enterprising students and environmental advocates caught the attention of the media in the summer of 2003 by purchasing and painting an old school bus, stockpiling waste veggie oil from the College's dining halls, borrowing the filtering system from Ross Dining (purchased with a campus Environmental Grant) and gathering up a dozen friends to travel across country while educating about biofuels and rock climbing. When they were nearing the end of their fuel supply they would seek out the nearest fast food restaurant for a refill of used vegetable oil. Their Bio Bus website, that journaled their trip, received thousands of hits.
Wild Alaskan Salmon
In the fall of 2004, Dining Services worked with sophomore Camille Padilla, who is also a member of a fishing family, to purchase 25,000 pounds of wild Alaskan king salmon from Seafood Producers Cooperative who has a plant in Padilla's hometown of Sitka, Alaska. The wild salmon replaced farm-raised salmon that had been regular fare on the dining menu.
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