Denison University Shares Farm to Fork Products Through Big Red Buyer’s Club
- by Guest
Sustainability Manager S.K. Piper at the roll-out of the buyer’s club
Bon Appétit guests have access to not only strong culinary talent, but also the amazing local products available to the cafés through the Farm to Fork program.
S.K. Piper, Midwest Fellow turned sustainability manager at Denison University in Granville, OH, had been wanting to start a buyer’s club to make these products available to the Denison community outside of the cafés. In the fall, her dream was realized, with help from some seniors from Denison’s Environmental Studies program.
By starting a buyer’s club — basically letting people join in to buy products in bulk — Piper hoped to give the Denison community access to the great local grains, flours, cheeses, and more that are served every day in the dining halls. Focusing the club on yearround staple items would complement the local produce already available at biweekly farmers’ markets, so that members could be true locavores, right down to their breakfast cereals!
Buyer’s club creators Emily Marguerite and Jen Curry with their first customer, Liz Barringer-Smith, sporting her sweatshop-free reusable bag
The inspiration for the buyer’s club was threefold: 1) add more support to Denison’s Farm to Fork partners, 2) make it easier for members to be conscientious consumers, and even 3) help shape and support better eating and buying habits on the Denison campus. College is often the first time students cook for themselves in any significant way, and by providing them with convenient, affordable access to foods that happened to be healthy, local, and sustainable, the Bon Appétit team hoped to set them on the path to lifelong conscientious eating.
Environmental Studies students Jen Curry ’15 and Emily Marguerite ’15 worked with Piper to launch the buyer’s club for their senior project and are continuing the project as interns in the second semester. Anyone at Denison can create an online account on the university’s CaterTrax site, and once they pay the membership fee, they receive access to the buyer’s club menu. They can order and pay online, then pick up their order biweekly at the convenient location of Slayter Student Union on campus. The wide variety of options includes coffee, cheese, yogurt, milk, beans, whole grains and cereal, salsa, syrups, pasta, flour, chocolate, candy, and gluten-free snacks. Emily and Jen intend to expand the buyer’s club by adding more business partners and products and advertising to continue attracting more customers.
The club, meanwhile, is still successful and growing. Because buyers are getting the freshest products available and supporting the small businesses in their community, they see the easy reasons to participate.
Submitted by S.K. Piper, Sustainability Manager, and Lia Crosby, Dining Sustainability Intern
Denison Votes on Custom Blend F2F Tea
Maureen Burns-Hooker, founder of the Herbal Sage Tea Company
The Bon Appétit team at Denison University is proud to offer not only local food, but also local beverages. One of these beloved Farm to Fork vendors is Herbal Sage Tea Company, located just 55 miles away in Athens, OH.
Maureen Burns-Hooker, founder of Herbal Sage, blends her teas with Fair Trade organic tea leaves and a selection of herbs and berries, many of which she grows on her own property or sources from her community. The campus coffee shop, Commit Grounds, began carrying Herbal Sage first, and then the two campus dining halls introduced new iced tea machines specifically to offer the tea. With such names as Happy Belly and Brain Food, the tea has been attractive to students (of course, its delicious flavors helped too).
Local elderberries used in the production of the new Big Red Tea
Herbal Sage also offers custom blends for its clients, and when Denison opted to offer its own custom blend — Big Red Tea, an homage to Denison’s nickname and mascot — Maureen delivered eight blends from which to choose. Rather than pick a favorite, the Bon Appétit team narrowed it down to their top three and then left it up to the campus guests to decide the winner. Students, faculty, and staff sampled and voted for their favorite teas during a week of tastings at both dining halls.
The clear winner was a black tea blend featuring Fair Trade organic rooibos, organic hibiscus, organic rosehips, local elderberry, organic strawberry leaf, Fair Trade organic black tea, organic lemon peel, local rosemary, local organic ginger, and organic spearmint. The blend is being rotated in at the iced tea machines and is a regular option at Commit Grounds. Soon the tea will be available for retail on campus — but not before a contest to design the logo for the custom blend!
Submitted by S.K. Piper, Sustainability Manager, and Lia Crosby, Dining Sustainability Intern