Local Foods is Back in Full Swing
Max Kline | October 29, 2021
Special to The Echo
The Local Foods Crew (left to right): Annie McGehrin, Natalie Taylor, Kay Smith, Lily Fidler and Max Kline.
The Local Foods Crew is one of the smallest crews Warren Wilson College (WWC) has to offer. However, some may say they’re the most ambitious on campus. The Local Foods Crew supports the dining services’ commitment to WWC’s Sustainable Dining Policy, which began nearly a decade ago. Each of the four crew members juggle daily tasks relating to tracking food costs and quantifying the amount of local food served. Additionally, the crew offers delicious samples and recipes using local ingredients at tabling events. Whether the food is produced here on campus or from one of WWC’s partnered farms, Local Foods wants to share where it came from.
Since the crew’s formation in 2012, it has remained under the radar in comparison to the other crews in service to the dining hall, such as the Farm and Garden Crews, Cowpie or even Forestry. However, the General Manager of Sodexo at WWC, Brian O’Loughlin, understood there needed to be some cohesion amongst the dining-related crews, which led him to help establish the Local Foods Crew initially.
“I like the (idea) to have a student crew independently verify and increase local purchases … it’s the student’s farm and they deserve the bounties from it,” said O’Loughlin.
However, it was difficult to get a running start on the new Local Foods Crew. Former Crew Leader, Rebecca Walton, who led the crew from 2015 until 2018, recently discussed some of the challenges she faced as the crew leader.
“We were almost three years behind in terms of (tracking) food purchases,” said Walton.
The challenges Walton faced were due to the crew being in its’ infancy stage and also to a period of time without a Sustainability Coordinator. Once Walton had accepted the position there was a lot of catching up to be done from the years before her arrival. Additionally, quantifying and sourcing local food can be a tedious research project. For all of these reasons the Local Foods Crew struggled to recruit or retain crew members. O’Loughlin understood firsthand the difficulties of beginning a crew from scratch.
“The first year I managed the Local Foods Crew and realized it was more than I was capable of. To be more effective I should have someone manage that position,” O’Loughlin stated.
Nine years after its formation, a couple years without it and a few supervisors later, the Local Foods Crew is back and more ambitious than ever. In the past, they have had a working goal to have 34% of all campus food be locally purchased. In recent times, due to the lasting impact of COVID-19, this number has dropped to almost 15%. However, under the guidance of the new Sustainability Coordinator, Annie McGehrin, the local food purchases are rising again. Currently with around 20% locally sourced food, McGehrin is unsatisfied with that number, and aims to reach 25% by winter break and above 33% by summer of 2022. The more local food being served in our dining halls means the ingredients are fresher and more sustainable.
The most recent event held by Local Foods occurred before fall break and involved a kale pesto. The vegan dish consisted of basil leaves from the Warren Wilson garden and locally sourced kale from South Carolina. Their next event will be Friday, October 29, for their Halloween Burger Cookout from 5pm to 7pm on the Cowpie patio. There will be over 70 pounds of WWC beef being used for sliders that evening. Additionally, a gluten free and vegan option will be offered. Costumes are mandatory at this event, so make sure they’re burger-friendly. Stay tuned for updates on the Local Foods Crew’s upcoming events!
