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(Photo compliments of Bon Appetit)
Recently I had a chance to sit down with Norman Zwagil, the general manager at Bon Appetit-Goucher College. For the last 9 years Norman has successfully run the Bon Appetit program at Goucher College.
Bon Appetit is an exceptional catering company that is rooted in the beliefs of serving local, sustainable and organic foods to it's consumers. All of Goucher's students can look forward to several different dining options, which range from Kosher, Vegan, Vegetarian and Omnivore. These options are available to the students all of the time.
The goal of Bon Appetit is to work closely with the local farmers and producers of the area, and ensure that the college receives the freshest product possible. Bon Appetit researches the farms, making sure the products they use are local, fresh and healthy for you.
Remember when you were a kid and your priorities were different? You ate the food your parents provided for you and often had no concern as to where it came from. Every now and then you would get a Happy Meal, scarf down the "food" and cherish your cool new toy. But as you grew older and had to start paying for your food, you became more aware of what you were consuming. You had to make the choice of quality over quantity.
I asked Norman what the student response was to the Farm to Fork program and if eating locally raised or organic products even mattered to them. He responded that several students and faculty had a positive attitude and encouraged the Farm to Fork program. Bon Appetit has seemed to give the students a little bit more pride in the way they treat the Earth and their own bodies.
Norman mentioned that a majority of the students were delighted and some very involved in supporting the program. Goucher has a garden where they grow herbs and other greens to use in the kitchen, they also make sure to compost all their waste. They even dispose of their corn based products toward Bio Fuels.
Student's at Goucher have the option to dine in five different open dining areas. Each dining area has a menu which often changes weekly and coincides with eating in season. A weekly changing menu ensures freshness of the food and exciting new options to look forward to. If you are wondering where Bon Appetit gets their produce, here are some of their major suppliers.
Albert’s Organics in Bridgetport, New Jersey provides organic produce, soy products, yogurt, antibiotic- and hormone-free beef, and tofu.
Chesapeake Field Farmers in Chestertown, Maryland provides organic snacks, flour, and breads.
Firefly Farms located in Bittinger, Maryland supplies their need of goat cheese.
Harrisburg Dairies up in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania has a collection of independent dairy farms and a supplier of milk that is not treated with recombinant bovine somatatropin (rBST)
Licking Creek Bend Farm in Needmore, Pennsylvania offers a selection of organic fruits and vegetables, such as apples, pumpkins, squash, and herbs
New Morning Farm in Hustontown, Pennsylvania offers transitional, or not quite organic, fruits
One Straw Farm in White Hall, MD (who are my neighbors) has one of the largest selections of organic produce, vegetables, and tomato products in Maryland. One Straw Farm also recycles cooking grease to make bio-diesel.
Pura Vida Coffee in Seattle, Washington offers shade-grown, fair-trade, and organic coffee
Roseda Beef located in Monkton, Maryland supplies Black Angus beef and burgers that are all-natural and hormone free.
Shlomo's Meat Market in Pikesville, Maryland is the supplier of their certified kosher and local meat and poultry
Springfield Farms right in Sparks, Maryland supplies organic turkeys, other poultry, and game. They also are the distributor of locally produced ice cream and dairy products.
Tuscarora Organic Growers up in Hustontown, Pennsylvania are distributors and growers of organic produce, fruit, flowers, and herbs for more than two dozen local farms
Trickling Springs Creamery of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania supply all-natural dairy products.
Two Oceans Seafood located in Stevenson, Maryland are Bon Appetit's source of sustainable seafood.
United Natural Foods based in Keene, New Hampshire are one of the used distributors of organic and natural foods
Uptown Bakers right in Hyattsville, Maryland offer artisan breads and pastries.
So as you can see, Bon Appetit uses a wide variety of either organic, local or sustainable products. With such a vast list of options, you can imagine the the culinary possibilities that come out of the on campus kitchens.
If all of this wasn't enough you can find that the Bon Appetit program reaches to several other locations such as; St. Mary’s College, Gallaudet College, American University, Georgetown Law, Cisco Systems, Oracle Corporation, University of Maryland, Shady Grove, and Patrick Henry College. In my conversations with Norman, I was excited to find out that Bon Appetit is also planing on opening this summer at University of Maryland, Baltimore Campus.
Bon Appetit also plans on expanding it's Farmer's Market program. In addition to their already existing fall Farmer's Market, plans are in the works to launch a spring Farmer's Market starting April 30th. Bon Appetit is working in including a CSA program, and also extending the Farmer's Market to the University of Maryland, Baltimore Campus.
With all that Bon Appetit has involved itself in, it becomes quite clear the possibilities of any institution in the Mid-Atlantic region having the option of adopting these practices. It's always exciting for me to see people like Norman taking the pioneering steps of making the sustainable food practice easily accessible to all. Thinking back on my days at college, I could only have hoped and dreamed for a meal like the students at Goucher have access to on a daily basis.
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