News- Savory Alliance
This excerpt was originally published in the Missoulian (May 7, 2004).
Savory allinace By BETSY COHEN of the Missoulian
UM celebrates highly successful Farm to College Program Just over a year ago, the University of Montana lunched a pilot program to nourish the campus community and the state economy. Back then, no one knew how the UM Farm to College Program would fare. The idea was simple: UM Dining Services would try to spend some of its $2.5 million budget on food purchased from local and regional farmers and ranchers. As the theory went, the campus community would benefit by eating healthier food and the larger community would benefit from the business.
But could Montana food producers supply the demand to feed UMs 12,000-some daily customers? Could UM work with small businesses? Could small businesses work with UM?
A year later, the answer is a hearty yes.
On Thursday, the program held its first anniversary party, education forum, networking event and trade show, aptly called Cultivating Partnerships and Celebrating the Harvest.
In the past year, UM has purchased from more than 38 local producers, which has recirculated about $200,000 back into Montanas economy, said Mark LoParco, director of UMs Dining Services.
The goal is to continue building the program, he said, and become so successful other Montana state-operated institutions will follow UMs lead. LoParco believes the concept could jump state borders, and said he was encouraged by a recent request from a North Dakota university, stating it wanted information about UMs Farm to College Program.
While UM Dining Services and faculty in the environmental science program have been enthusiastic about the program from its inception, the most impressive crowing came from the participating farmers and ranchers. These kinds of ideas arent easy to make happen, said Dean Folkvord, chief executive officer from Wheat Montana, a Three Forks farm and bakery.
This has been just a huge thing for us, he said Its not very often when somebody invites us to do business with a 12,000-customer base.
For us, this is an impressive opportunity.
Wheat Montana is currently in negotiations with UM for a three-year $60,000 to $75,000 contract.
Other companies have signed on, too, such as Montola, a Culbertson vegetable oil processing plant, which has sold UM $18,000 worth of cooking oil.
Theres a lot of potential for this program if we all work collaboratively, LoParco said. The challenge is changing the culture of purchasing of creating a system that allows small business to participate through cooperatives, of overcoming transportation and delivery issues.
On average, produce consumed in North America travels thousands of miles from farm to fork, changes hands 33 times and comes from five different countries other than the United States, said Neva Hassanein, a UM environmental studies professor and one of the programs developers.
Because of the distance food must travel, preservatives are added to the products.
UMs program, she said, is a way for Montanans to help each other, to build healthier communities and develop relationships that benefit everyone in the state.
This is not business as usual, its business with a face, said Jane Kile, community food project coordinator for the Mission Mountain Market.
The program is still developing, and there are still obstacles to overcome, LoParco said. Montanas smaller growers need to develop cooperatives so that they can work together and supply UM with its demand, he said, and UM needs to find more ways to mainstream local products into their everyday services.
No one knows what kind of impact the program will have on the Montanan economy, but the programs concept is solid and UM will stay committed to the idea, LoParco said.
Over time the economic value of this opportunity will be learned, Folkvord said. But first you have to have a way into something like this, you have to have a beginning.