50-mile meal highlights food grown locally

Last modified: Friday, October 30, 2009 11:44 AM CDT

50-mile meal highlights food grown locally

By JENNA MINK, The Daily News, jmink@bgdailynews.com/783-3246

When Diana Giraldo started working on a class project, she was surprised to find the number of local people who grow and sell food.

“I had no idea there were all these things,” said Giraldo, a senior hospitality management major at Western Kentucky University. “We don’t buy a whole lot of groceries; college students don’t normally eat that well, anyway.”

Giraldo and her classmates hosted a 50-mile meal Thursday at WKU’s Academic Complex - students cooked and served lunch to about 54 faculty and community members, using products that were grown within 50 miles of Bowling Green.

“I think it’s a really good idea,” said Jenny Dargan, a senior hospitality management major. “It’s awesome in today’s economy how we’re helping the community.”

As part of a class in the hotel, restaurant and tourism management program, students serve a meal each week, which helps them get real-world experience in the restaurant field. But this week was different. Their professor, Rich Patterson, asked them to get out of their comfort zones and cook a local meal.

“I think it’s real important for students to know that we need to support our community,” he said.

Patterson assigned the locally themed project after Cynthia D. Sprouse, treasurer of BG Green, suggested it. Last year, Sprouse helped organize a similar dinner at Verdi Restaurant.

“During the summer, there’s limited places to eat on campus,” she said. “However, we have the farmers market going on. The homegrown, in the long run, is going to be healthier than the grocery store.”

Students chose a meal and began researching places to purchase ingredients. They visited local farmers markets and contacted local producers and farmers, dropping by places like Jackson’s Orchard. Thursday afternoon, students were dressed in waiter and chef garb, cooking and serving plates of local meats, fruits and vegetables.

“I had heard (about farmers markets) on the radio, but actually going out and talking to people, I had never seen them,” Giraldo said. “Now that I know it’s here, I want to go more.”

And some diners said they hoped the 50-mile meal generated that kind of awareness.

“I think it’s a really good attempt at getting local ideas on campus,” said Molly Kerby, assistant professor of women’s studies. “I’m seeing some people I wouldn’t expect to be here.”

Kerby is co-owner of Greener Groundz Coffee and Cafe, a local restaurant that often uses local produce and promotes shopping and eating locally.

“It’s more ethically beneficial,” she said. “It sends a message to buy local.”

Patterson said preparing locally grown food is not yet a trend among restaurants, “but it’s catching on more and more.”

Jeanie Adams-Smith, associate professor of photojournalism, said she’s been trying to eat mostly local foods since March.

“I feel a difference in how I feel. The food is just better,” she said. “I try to get as much locally grown as I can.”

Still, eating locally requires a commitment from most people, she said.

“It’s a lot of work,” she said. “You have to research who’s doing this, and you have to ask the questions.”

WKU students were asking those questions this week and more will search for local farmers in the future - Patterson said he plans to continue the 50-mile project and he will likely offer the meal twice next semester.

“Your produce is so much better when it’s fresh,” he said. “Plus, we’re supporting the local community.”