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The 10th annual Eat Local Challenge hosted by Hamilton food service provider Bon Appetit on Sept. 23 featured a complete array of fresh, delicious foods that came from within a 150-mile radius of Clinton. Hamilton community members feasted on lunch outside McEwen under bright sunny skies.

Bon Appétit Management Company,  Hamilton College’s food service provider, will host the 9th annual Eat Local Challenge on Tuesday, Sept. 23, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., in McEwen Courtyard. On this day, the chefs at Hamilton will join more than 400 other Bon Appétit restaurants and cafés in preparing a special meal made entirely with ingredients sourced from within 150 miles of their kitchens.

The corn from Ohio, the blueberries from Maine, and the strawberries from California that all ended up at your summer barbeque traveled quite a distance before arriving on your plate. “Farm to Fork,” a term used by the college’s food service provider, Bon Appétit, entails buying locally grown products when possible in order to reduce carbon emissions caused by transporting food long distances, as well as to stimulate the local economy. Nicole LaBarge ’15 is working on a Levitt Project, “Analyzing the Sustainability of Bon Appétit at Hamilton College Using Life Cycle Assessment.”

Hamilton food service provider Bon Appétit Management Co. was named to the Daily Meal’s 60 Best Colleges for Food in America list for 2013. Hamilton College ranks 49th on the list.

Bon Appétit Management Company, Hamilton’s food service provider, will host the 9th annual Eat Local Challenge on Tuesday, Sept. 24, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., in McEwen Courtyard. The chefs at Hamilton will join more than 400 other Bon Appétit restaurants and cafés in preparing a special meal made entirely with ingredients sourced from within 150 miles of their kitchens.

Mark Winne P'00, food policy specialist and author, delivered a lecture to the Hamilton community on Oct. 17. Winne drew on themes from his books Food Rebels and Guerilla Gardeners, and Smart Cookin’ Mamas, exploring the challenges people face both nationally and globally in our ability to control the food we eat and to participate fully in the crafting of food policy.

Lauren Howe ’12 spent the fall semester conducting an independent study project in which she researched and recorded campus food purchasing at Hamilton.  She collaborated with Bon Appétit and Real Food Challenge (RFC), a student-led organization based in Boston advocating “real food” on more college campuses.

In our busy, cosmopolitan society, it's almost impossible to avoid fast food. Whether you see a McDonald’s every day when driving to work, stop in at Dunkin Donuts before school, or see a commercial for Sonic on TV during your favorite primetime show, fast food is seemingly ubiquitous. At Hamilton, Lauren Howe ’13 and Eunice Choi’14, however, are trying to make the transition from the fast food era toward a new, sustainable style of eating and living.

Hamilton students will be encouraged to take steps to reduce their carbon footprint in the dining halls on Thursday as Bon Appetit Management Company launches its fourth annual Low Carbon Diet Day. Commons Dining Hall and the Green Café at McEwen will feature fresh ingredients from local farmers and students will be provided with valuable information to help them choose environmentally friendly eating habits.

Bon Appétit, Hamilton’s food service provider, was recognized in a Utica Observer-Dispatch for its “eat local” efforts. On Sept. 28 Bon Appétit hosted its annual “Eat Local Challenge,” where all food served was grown within a 150-mile radius of campus.