From being a college student, I have learned that I am responsible for deciding what I am going to eat. My options include the dining hall food, the school vending machines, and fast-food restaurants that are close to campus. When I want to eat a meal that is healthier than French fries or a pre-packaged sandwich, I have a difficult time finding fresh, organic meals on campus. Other students may agree that it can be difficult to find fresh, healthy, and organic foods too. Colorado State has been trying to expand their number of local and third-party verified goods, but right now they are not meeting the needs of the students.
Colorado State University has tried to increase the number of organic foods that are served on campus. Since 2017, the university has produced 6,346 pounds of greens that have been used in the dining centers. Each year greens are grown on campus and are labeled by their own “On Campus Grown” label. The 6,346 pounds of greens though, means that there are approximately only 25 pounds of greens available per day in the dining halls. I think it is reasonable to say that 25 pounds of greens cannot serve all the 6,000 students who live on campus. Instead of only relying on themselves to provide organic foods, Colorado State should use local, organic farmers to bring more produce onto campus.
Local farms are a great way to not only benefit the environment, but to also promote a safer and healthier food supply. Local food is proven to contain more nutrients and less pesticides than imported foods. There is a shorter amount of time between the harvest and the table, in this case, the dining halls. Food that is imported from far-away states and other countries are often old foods and have sat in distribution centers for long periods of time. Local food, additionally, helps maintain farmland in the community, and you know exactly where the food is coming from. The money that Colorado State would spend on local farmers and growers would all stay in Fort Collins by being reinvested in businesses and services in the community. By serving produce from local farms, CSU would be supporting the community as well as providing their students with the best food possible.
Eating local food is considered eating seasonally. Instead of eating the same foods over the course of the school year, Colorado State could change up the menu by buying from local farms. Depending on the season, farms produce more of some produce than others. With this seasonal growing, CSU would naturally be able to change what was being served more often. Continuing, local grown foods have better flavor than imported foods. Crops can be picked at their peak of ripeness instead of being picked early in order to be ripe after shipping and distribution. Instead of forcing students to find their own source of organic and healthy foods, Colorado State can switch to becoming a locally grown food school where all of the produce comes from local farms.
Colorado State University should has done a good job with providing students with meals. Unfortunately, most of these meals include prepackaged foods or out of state produce. To meet the demand of organic, fresh foods from students, CSU should invest to purchasing produce from local farms. Not only will CSU make the daily dining hall consumers happy, but they will also be supporting the community.
References
Bertone, R., & *, N. (2020, May 29). What’s Growing? Colorado Produce Calendar. Retrieved December 07, 2020, from https://www.farmflavor.com/colorado/colorado-farm-to-table/whats-growing-colorado-produce-calendar/
Colorado State University. (2020). Retrieved from https://housing.colostate.edu/about/sustainability/green-dining/
Hand, P., Bartlett, B., & Weaver, B. (2018, December 07). What is “Local” Food? Retrieved December 07, 2020, from https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2010/07/16/what-local-food
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