The Local Foods Crew works to increase awareness of issues within the food system, to cultivate relationships between producers, students, and Dining Services, and to create transparency between Sodexo Dining Services and the student body. The crew members track and record food purchasing patterns in an attempt to identify areas where change would be most effective. It is the crew's job to set goals and implement plans of action that will move the school towards its purchasing goals, which have been outlined in the Sustainable Food Policy.
Each year, we complete an exhaustive "Local Foods Audit" of campus dining services to determine exactly how much of its budget goes to foods grown on campus, locally, and regionally, as well as those with third-party certifications such as organic, fair trade, humane, etc. Results from these audits will be made public in accordance with their completion.
We are also working to compile research on local foods, the WWC food system, and related topics, posting them online for general reference. Please submit reports like this to us! Email localfoods@warren-wilson,edu
One of our overarching goals is to help members of the WWC community become aware of the choices they inherently make each time they eat at campus dining facilities, as well as their everyday lives.
Team:
Alexis Hand transferred to Warren Wilson in the Fall of 2012 as a Sophomore. She spent a month WWOOFing in California prior to joining our community. Alexis is a farm to table kinda gal, and loves to cook foods that she grew herself.
While working on a farm on the eastern shore of Virginia, she had the opportunity to care for a Jersey dairy cow named __________ for three months. This meant a lot of hand milking!
Alexis is working towards a degree in sustainable agriculture, hoping to own and manage a raw dairy operation raising jersey cows.
Conor Leary is a freshman at Warren Wilson College and can be found all around campus wearing amazing hats. He took a year off before coming to college and completed a semester program with Kroka Expeditions in New Hampshire. This experience created the opportunity for him to stay and work as the Food Manager the following summer.
Conor has also worked in a restaurant that specialized in locally sourced foods in his hometown of Carlisle, PA. He is currently undecided, but leaning towards a major in Environmental Studies at Warren Wilson College. Conor has mad knife skills, contact him for personal training.