Q: I’ve noticed the increasing emphasis on locally produced dairy in the dining halls. Is there a similar effort underway to increase the availability of local fruit?

 According to director Robert Volpi, Williams Dining Services is currently making significant efforts to, when possible, use organic and locally produced food products. Through their own efforts and the facilitation of Ginsburg Food Distributors, Volpi and his team have brought an increasing number of locally produced foods into the dining halls in recent years. The five dining halls on campus now carry between 12-15% local products, as well as an abundance of fair trade and organic foods. Because of cost and logistical restraints, though, it is not possible to exclusively carry food that is up to these high standards. According to Volpi, in addition to purchasing local, organic, and fair-trade, Williams Dining Services is making significant efforts to support American farmers by ordering domestically. Thus, while not all food can come from the beautiful Berkshires, we can at least ensure that it comes from sources within the country.

Despite such logistical constraints, Williams is making a statement by purchasing their apples, pears, plums, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and melons from local farmers. Between sources such as David’s Melons and the Apple Barn, Dining Services has been able to buy local, while still maintaining a high quality of service and a balanced budget. Last academic year alone, Williams purchased over $28,000 worth of apples from local organic sources. All of this local fruit is either delivered directly to the dining halls, or to the brand new flash-freezer in the basement of the Paresky Center. This innovative freezing process allows Dining Services to naturally preserve seasonal local fruit, and serve it at the dining halls year-roun.

Overall, though Williams Dining Services faces budgetary and logistical restraints, they are taking enormous strides toward providing the College with locally produced products. With a large portion of the fruit already local, Volpi and his team are now moving toward making the rest organic and domestic.

If you have any questions about sustainability at Williams, please email them to zilkhacenter@williams.edu or post a comment below..

Thoughts? Go to the Sustainability Blog or send an email to Stephanie Boyd (sboyd@williams.edu) to comment.