This is a pointer to a little booklet that details how to
start a local food project for a college or school. I
provided assistance to the horticulturist on this project and
can testify to the dynamic energy it generated in this region.
Steve Diver
Fayetteville, AR
* * * * *
"A Guide to Starting a Local Food Project", Based on
the Hendrix College Experience. 1991. By Melissa
Beck Yazman. 41 p.
Available through:
Hendrix Local Food Project
Hendrix College
Conway, AR 72032
Summary:
Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, inititated a local
food project in 1986 through the assistance of staff at
Meadowcreek Project in Fox, AR. The project was awarded
a start-up grant from the Winthrop Rockefeller
Foundation in Little Rock.
Hendrix College is a four-year private liberal arts college
that serves about 1,000 full-time students. The goals of the
Hendrix Local Food Project are to offer nutritious meals to
Hendrix's dining hall patrons and educate the students about
healthy food habits while stimulating the local agricultural
economy.
The project is holistic in its view of food from field to
table. The promotion of locally-grown produce was balanced
with a total perspective on hazards of agriculture
pesticides, food preparation, and human nutrition. A wellness
center was established to provide educational materials on nutrition
and health. Newsletters added included: Berkeley Wellness
Letter; Tufts Univ. Diet and Nutrition Letter; Harvard
Health Letter; The Univ. of Texas Lifetime Health Letter;
Rodale's Food and Nutrition Letter; Edell Health Letter.
The HLFP decided to focus on buying fresh,
processed, and frozen foods grown and manufactured in
Arkansas. They gave priority to foods that were grown
and packaged within a 75-mile radius of the campus.
They defined "fresh" as "minimal processing, according
to the nature of the product."
Who will the project affect?:
* Those who eat meals in the dining hall (patrons)
* Those who provide meals (the food-service staff)
* Those who supply the food (farmers and processers)
To implement such a program, HLFP suggests a team involving:
* The institution's administration
* The food-service administration
* Kitchen staff
* Patrons (students, faculty, staff in Hendrix's case)
* Funding agencies
* Rural development leaders
* Agricultural extension service
* Farmers and farmer groups