Goucher College
(
Towson
MD
21204 )
- Contact Name:
- Norman Zwagil
- Contact Title:
- General Manager
- Telephone:
- (410) 337-6416
- E-Mail:
- nzwagil@goucher.edu
- Who was most responsible for initiating your farm-to-college program?
- Dining/food services personnel
- In what year did the program begin?
- Other, please specify:
- Are students actively involved in maintaining the program?
- no
- What role, if any, have cooperative extension agents or other agency/agricultural professionals played in the farm-to-college program?
- Not Involved
- What role, if any, would be useful for cooperative extension agents or other agency/agricultural professionals to play in the farm-to-college program?
- Facilitator for certain program components
- Resource/contact person
- Stimulating interest and/or disseminating information (i.e., outreach)
- Who runs/is primarily responsible for the farm-to-college program? (please choose primary person/group in charge)
- Dining/food services director/manager
- Where do the majority of your locally purchased farm products come from?
- 50-200 miles
- What are the primary local farm products you purchase? (please list top 3-5 items)
- Other, please specify:
- Are any of these local food products organically grown?
- yes
- yes
- Approximately how much, in dollars, does dining/food services spend annually on local farm products?
- Other, please specify:
- Other, please specify:
- Who/where are local products purchased from?
- Distributor(s)
- Individual farmer(s)
- Farmers market(s)
- Are local food products used in...
- Regular menus
- Special events
- Was external funding or other resources (grants, equipment, etc.) used to...
- Not used
- Have you used any of the following to promote the program or enhance its educational value?
- Farm tours
- Information in dining locations about the program
- Press releases
- Speakers/demonstrations
- Special events (eg., local foods dinner)
- What, if any, other environmental initiatives on your campus are connected with the farm-to-college program?
- Fair trade projects
- Farmer's market
- Are there any bidding requirements for purchasing local food?
- no
- no
- If yes, how do you manage the higher price?
- Reduce costs elsewhere to make up the difference
- What do you see as the most significant barriers to starting or sustaining farm-to-college programs?
- Coordinating purchase/delivery of products
- Engaging students
- Finding growers/local product supply
- Product price
- Getting administrative support
- What do you see as the most significant benefits from farm-to-college programs?
- Higher quality food
- Lower environmental impacts
- Opportunity for student education/research
- Good for school and/or company public relations
- Supporting local farmers, community and/or economy
- Of the following policy issues, please choose up to two, if any, that you believe would provide the most significant support for farm-to-college programs:
- Grants/subsidies to help farmers organize cooperatives
- Grants/subsidies to help dining/food services offset extra costs
- Grants/subsidies to help farmers build season extenders
- Language written into food service contracts to support local food purchases
- Grants/subsidies to help farmers shift to more sustainable production and direct marketing
- What strategies, if any, do you recommend for making farm-to-college programs work?
- Incorporate 'buy local' requirements into food service contracts
- Promote the project in as many ways as possible to the campus/local community
- Do lots of research before starting
- Start small, such as planning a local foods dinner
- What resources, research, or contacts, if any, were useful for starting or expanding your farm-to-college program?
- Bringing Local Food to Local People: A Resource Guide for Farm-to-School and Farm-to-Institution Programs (ATTRA)
- Buy Local Food and Farm Toolkit: A Guide for Student Organizers (Oxfam America)
- Community Food Security Coalition
- Local Food Dinner Toolkit (Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture)
- Farm-to-Cafeteria Connections: Marketing Opportunities for Small Farms in Washington State (Washington State Dept. of Agriculture)
- FoodRoutes Network
- Local Food Project: A How-to Manual (Gary L. Valen, Humane Society of the United States)
- Occidental College Center for Food & Justice
- Selling to Institutions: An Iowa Farmer's Guide (Robert Luedeman & Neil D. Hamilton)
- University of Wisconsin Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems
- Washington State Department of Agriculture Small Farm and Direct Marketing Program
- Is dining/food services:
- Contract-managed (please provide contractor name)
- Contract-managed (please provide contractor name)
- Total number of individual meals served daily in locations operated by dining/food services:
- Other, please specify:
- Other, please specify:
- Does food services use a (please choose most appropriate answer):
- Mixed plan
- Mixed plan
- What is dining/food services' approximate annual budget for food?
- Other, please specify:
- Other, please specify: