Eat well, live well

Dining services to host sustainability and health and wellness event

See larger image
Head Bistro West chef Kirke Northcutt serves up great local fare with panache as part of a larger U effort to support regional food producers.

Photo by Patrick O'Leary

September 21, 2007

The state of Minnesota is serious about its food, and its flagship university is following suit. It's not enough for University Dining Services (UDS) to offer excellently prepared meals, it has taken the big step of paying attention to where products come from and how they're produced. Last year, the Twin Cities campus alone spent $1.7 million on sustainably raised and harvested food.

On Monday, September 24, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Coffman Union's Great Hall, UDS will showcase how it works with regional partners to bring students, faculty, and staff the best food possible, including food produced by locally owned Twin Cities restaurants.

The "Eat Well, Live Well" event will have samples from 38 UDS partners, including:

• Pepin Heights Farm
• Thousand Hills Cattle Company
• Davanni's Pizza & Hot Hoagies
• Sawatdee Thai Restaurant

Representatives from University Dining Services' newest partner, Urban Ventures Leadership Foundation, will be on hand to speak to students, faculty, and staff about its work. This September, UDS began serving Urban Ventures' coffee, CityKid Java, in all of the residential restaurants on campus. CityKid Java coffees are "true trade," meaning they are purchased at or above fair trade industry costs and effort is made to help producers and workers become financially secure. Urban Ventures, a nonprofit community development organization serving South Minneapolis communities, contributes 100 percent of its CityKid Java profits back into youth programming at its community center.

"Eat Well, Live Well" is open to the public. UDS invites you to see and taste all the local and healthy foods available on campus.

The first 250 students at the event will receive a free coffee travel mug with free fair trade coffee.