Bon Appetit, the catering firm in charge of the Terrace Dining Room, is gearing up for its annual Eat Local Challenge. It challenges TDR staff to cook foods with ingredients grown and produced within a 150-mile radius of AU's campus. TDR chefs and staff will travel around the area to procure provisions for their own recipes, which they will present on Sept. 30.
This specially planned event demonstrates just how lucky we are at AU to maintain a relationship with Bon Appetit. True, Bon Appetit does cost slightly more than other dining service contractors, but that extra cost is well worth the effort that the company puts towards sustainability. Not only does Bon Appetit shop locally for seafood, meat and produce, but last year it also started limiting its beef purchases to organic, hormone-free, environmentally friendly options. Also, in purchasing a high percentage of its ingredients locally, Bon Appetit supports the local economy and takes steps towards fighting monopolization of our agricultural industries.
It has also been falsely noted by some students that Bon Appetit's sustainable practices are offset by the occasional days on which the dishwasher breaks down and plastic forks and foam plates are used and thrown away. The plates and cups used in this situation and in the Tavern from day to day are actually specially fabricated biodegradable foam that is lighter than Styrofoam helping to reduce shipping costs
Taken together, these steps do make a difference towards AU's efforts to become a more sustainable, socially conscious university.
