Tufts continues to lag behind some of its neighboring New England colleges and universities when it comes to procuring locally grown produce for its dining halls.
The 2004-2005 academic year marks the first time the University has branched out to include other locally grown produce in its menus.
Dewick-MacPhie and Carmichael dining halls only serve locally grown produce when specific foods are in season. For example, from October to December, apples in the dining halls come from local farms.
This fall, however, University dining halls also featured locally grown green beans, eggplants, butternut squash and apple cider.
According to Tufts' Nutrition and Marketing Specialist Julie Lampie, there is no readily available figure for the percentage of food that the University buys from local sources.
Nevertheless, Lampie said that she supports buying local produce and encourages the University to continue to pursue it.
"This year, we met with our vendor and said we wanted to purchase more locally grown items," Lampie said.
She said that several compelling reasons exist for buying items from a local market. For example, Lampie said she hopes others will agree that locally grown produce tastes better because the produce was not shipped across the country.
Without produce being shipped, Lampie said that buying local produce is also a more environmentally conscious decision.
Furthermore, buying from local establishments provides Tufts with the opportunity to give back - economically - to its surrounding community.
In a quest to introduce more locally grown foods, Tufts is following in the footsteps of other colleges and universities.
The Yale Sustainable Food Project has changed the community's attitude regarding food sources on its New Haven campus.
Yale students working on the Project help manage a one acre garden near campus. Associate Director of the Project, Melina Shannon-DiPietro, said the garden is designed to "give students a taste of good local, sustainably-grown food."
Members of the Yale community who participate in the Project have also communicated with the local farmers to let them know the needs of the community. Shannon-DiPietro said that participants help in "negotiating with local farmers to increase production and grow more of what we need."
Yale purchases its beef from both Massachusetts and Connecticut, honey from Connecticut, and chicken and eggs from Pennsylvania.
One difference between Yale and Tufts' recent initiatives is where the motivation and support comes from. "[Yale] students started this push and they continue to make the project strong," Shannon-DiPietro said, while Tufts' changes have been encouraged largely by the administration.
The Tufts Food Awareness Project (TFAP) - a joint mission that partners students, the Tufts Institute of the Environment, Fletcher's Center for International Environment and Resource Policy, and Tufts Dining Services - is currently leading the campus movement for more locally grown food in the dining halls and Jumbo Express.
