Terps Go Green

By Christian Melendez

With tens of thousands of students (and a tall size of visitors), the University of MD has to feed many mouths.  Sometimes in life, quality is exchanged for quantity.  This is a major concern here in College Park.  On top of our large student body, the university includes a Conference and Visitor Services for conferences, hosts high school graduations, and has plenty more folks coming through which makes the goal for a full menu of local, fair trade certified, organic food daunting.  Dining Services director Colleen Wright-Riva said that “Dining Services will encounter challenges involving costs, policy and logistics. ”  But she and others are noting that a few stirrings in different areas of the school are pushing us toward making the transition towards this fresh food.  Naturally, this isn’t moving as fast as one would hope, but its still happening.

Let me set the stage a little more.  University President Dan Mote affirmed his commitment to reducing the campus’ greenhouse gas emissions in 2007 when he signed the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment.  His signature was a nod towards opening the new Office of Sustainability and working towards a “climate neutral plan”.  In light of this, the word “green” is coming up everywhere and many more events are being held around this theme.  In the meantime, Dining Services has:

• Launched a Green Dining website
• Held an Eat Smart campaign which included posting nutritional info online and having a dietician available for free consultation at dining halls
• Experimented with an herb garden on the North Campus Diner’s rooftop
• Composted its food waste
• Changed its seafood policy to only purchasing that which meets the “best choices” or “good alternatives” categories as determined by Seafood Watch or the Marine Stewardship Council
• Collaborated with Athletics on a “Feed the Turtle” waste program, which resulted in a 41% diversion rate from landfills after just two Terp football games in Fall 2008
• Switched from styrofoam containers to bagasse containers, which are compostable
• Transitioned to only serving fair trade coffee
• Held an Eat-In initiative to reduce bagasse container usage

In almost 6 years, I’ve heard a ton of complaints about the university, yet I think not enough credit has been handed to them for their push towards a greener dining atmosphere.

Now let’s go off-campus.  With the support of the university, food is a centerpiece of community development.  UMD oversees the Engaged University, which runs under the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, where it is a division of the Maryland Cooperative Extension.  Originally, the university started as a land-grant institute and was called the Maryland Agriculture College, designed to help this area’s farmers.  In the spirit of engaging the community, through the use of agriculture, the Engaged University launched the Master Peace Garden in nearby Riverdale Heights, MD.  EU offers youth programs, such as a youth bike shop, a summer youth program, and after-school activities, and a community space.  The garden is going on its 3rd season, but has transformed into the Master Peace Community Farm.  I’ll post a video we made for a contest that explained the evolution and future of the food project (but the audio was cut by YouTube; hopefully it’ll be fixed soon but enjoy the visuals!)

With countless hours of volunteer work and the anchor of its manager, Vinnie Bevivino, the former garden is a thriving half-acre urban “farm” project.  

Here are some of the major accomplishments:

• It hosts over 20 community garden plots
• Acts as a outdoor classroom
• Composts all its “waste”
• Built a small on-site greenhouse
• Constructed a high tunnel for season extension
• Sells its food weekly at the Riverdale Farmers Market

Working there last season changed my life.  Its role as a catalyst for community development in this diverse neighborhood by providing organic fruits and veggies and a place to grow for families has made so many folks look at food in a new, yet old, way.  Food has been taken for granted in our society as so many of us run around constantly, which can easily be seen at UMD.  Yet there are reasons to see a change in the seasons.

 Students are becoming informed and aware of the many issues surrounding food.  Right now, a tunnel is being built in our student union to host interactive themes of oppression.  The first room you enter is the Food and Water room.  We have created amazing exhibits to highlight crucial topics, like voting with your fork, bottled water use, and the dark side of industrial agriculture.  In addition, the Residence Hall Association is demanding fresher foods for cooking, not just processed snacks, at one campus convenience store.  People are caring more about where there food comes from and how so much is affected by what you eat, from your body to the planet.

But plenty of improvements lie ahead, and for me, the biggest is transitioning to local, organic food, especially in a self-sufficient sense.  With the inspiration of a proposal writing assignment in English class and working on the SGA’s Sustainability Council, I am trying to rally students together who want to work with the university’s faculty and staff on a different purchasing policy and a student farm.  The university’s large influence could push for more organic farmers in the area.  And beyond looking for farmers, the university maintains excellent resources on doing its own farming.  The example of the Master Peace Community Farm, and expertise of the Cooperative Extension and College of AGNR, should cast aside much doubt on the university’s ability to grow some of its own food and compost its own food waste, while acting as an outdoor classroom and supporting the President’s climate agreement.

 

Green Dining and Master Peace didn’t happen overnight.  However, with the collaboration of students, faculty, and staff, I don’t think its a fool’s dream to see UMD’s dining halls supplied with more “real food”.