Designed to raise awareness of and support for local farmers, "Hero" is the country's longest running and most successful "buy local" program for such products and represents more than 120 farms, 12 restaurants, 45 grocery stores and eight farmer's markets.
Though Amherst's participation in the Local Hero Campaign is a recent development, the College's Dining Services has been doing business with Pioneer Valley farmers and vendors for decades. A survey of local vendors which provide Amherst with various foodstuffs include Adams Farm (a meat processing plant located in Athol), Hall Poultry (eggs, Pelham), Myron's Fine Foods (Asian style sauces, Miller Falls) and Ragged Hill Orchard (apples, West Brookfield). "We're committed to supporting local agriculture and local business," explained Amherst Dining Services director Charles Thompson. "We've bought our produce for almost 20 years from Squash Inc. of Belchertown. Whenever we order produce and its in season out here, we buy locally."
Rather than representing a fundamental change in Amherst Dining Services' approach, cooperation with CISA is part of an experimental effort by the school to further expand its ties to local agriculture as well as to raise awareness thereof. "This program does not necessarily partner you up with local farms," said Thompson. "Their job is to help with marketing, and to provide information on local farms. They help insure that current existing farms have enough business to stay in business, and maybe to even increase their business."
The benefits of buying local are manifold for all those involved. By procuring food from within the Valley, the College is able to support Massachusetts farmers and encourage the local economy, all the while bringing the freshest ingredients to Valentine meals. "I look at this as being a good resource in the sustainable foods area," said Thompson. "It helps to insure that we won't be losing more agricultural land. Farms are closing every year in the state of Massachusetts because they can't manage any more."
The College is not alone in this endeavor. The College works within a collaborative which pools resources from the Five Colleges' Dining Services to buy quantities of food in common. "Farm-to-college sales are rapidly gaining national attention," noted CISA program director Kelly Coleman. "Many, many other school's are making similar, though less publicized, efforts to buy more food locally. By joining the campaign, Amherst Dining Services is saying that buying local is important."
Buying local is not without its costs, however. "What I've found here is that the products are more expensive," Thompson said. "We do pay a premium." Thompson noted, however, that sustained cooperation with local farmers could eventually conduce to more competitive prices. "Lets face it. Farms are not gonna go out and plant an extra 10 acres of something if they're not guaranteed to sell it," he said. Buying local is thus seen as an avenue of mutual benefit for colleges and farmers alike. "The hope is that we can guarantee a certain volume of a certain product to a particular farm. If they have that kind of commitment, they may be willing to invest in more volume and lower their prices."
While efforts to buy local products may strengthen the College's ties to the Pioneer Valley community, the effects such endeavors have on students themselves are often obscured to the extent that few likely question the origin of their meals. "On one hand, I can see why the relationship between Valentine and the local food vendors could have a positive impact on the food and the local economy," said Carl Wang '08. "On the other hand, most of the students here, including me, probably never considered something as mundane as the geography of the broccoli or onions."
"This sounds pretty selfish, but my number-one priority is for the food I eat to taste good," said Nury Yim '08. "I honestly don't care where the food comes from."
Still, other students were appreciative of the College's efforts. "Many students are interested in the politics of food economics and most who are would agree this is a step in the right direction," said Matt Peverill '07.