Once each semester, Keene State College raises the appetite of not only its students, but its faculty and the families of students, as well.
Using the fall harvest from surrounding local farms, KSC serves mouth-watering meals. These meals can vary from a juicy bacon-cheddar cheeseburger, to the creative chocolate apple pizza dessert. It’s no wonder that Localvore, a day dedicated to meals being prepared with local ingredients, is a favorite at KSC to many.
Localvore, now reaching its seventh year, began at KSC when the need for more local and sustainable food was requested. Besides the stuffed turkey breast and mashed sweet potatoes all from local farmers, Localvore is KSC’s response to the local movement.
Sam Lewis / Equinox Staff: Local apples are up for grabs at the KSC Dining Common’s Localvore.
“Food is a part of everybody’s life,” said Rebecca Hunt, KSC dietitian and major coordinator of Localvore. “It is also an education process, educating what local is, ” Josef Quirinale, DC general manager, said about the event. During Localvore, suppliers like Black River Produce also do their part on educating the KSC community about the importance of local support.
Two of Black River Produce’s members sliced tender beef raised at Boyden Farm, and told stories of how they contribute to the local movement. “This is truly what local means and what Localvore aims to do,” Hunt added. While students ate slices of duck raspberry pizza or fresh wheat berry salad, the appreciation of Localvore’s importance was clear.
“A lot of college students, like myself, are like ‘I need food now and I’m too busy to think of anything else.’ So to give them local options to bring awareness, and it is probably a lot better for you, is a nice treat,” said KSC student Siobhan Roche. “I’d like local day to be every day,” added James Gillum sitting at the same table.
Sam Lewis / Equinox Staff
Above left: crates of apples on display during local day in the dining commons. Above right: two large bowls of buffalo chicken dip is served.
Although the love for Localvore is recognized, the event can only occur once a semester.
Not all students know the preparation for this event takes over a month, not to mention cooking preparation takes longer due to dealing with whole products versus already sliced meats and vegetables.
“We try to focus on local as much as we can, especially in-season stuff. But the problem is, for example, Long Wind tomatoes, which you will see at the grill, we will empty every Long Wind tomato that they can produce in half a week if we went with local tomatoes everyday.” KSC Sous Chef Aaron Pouliot said about Localvore being once a semester.
Quirnale added, “It would be great to do it everyday but the meal plan holders would run out of food by probably October.”
However, KSC aims to support locally as much as they can. In the dining commons there is daily access to local yogurt, milk, soy milk, ice cream, bagels and occasional eggs and produce. The sheer volume of a college community’s need for food is far too much for local farms to handle entirely, which is why Localvore is condensed into one day per semester.
Sam Lewis / Equinox Staff: Two large bowls of buffalo chicken dip is served.
“You can go through the dining hall right now and pick out so many campus faces. Not only that, some of them have brought their families. It’s a big deal. It’s not just lunch,“ Pouliot said.
According to Pouliot, Localvore is more than “just lunch,” because as the fresh local food enriches our bodies, our community and minds are enriched as well.
According to Hunt, Localvore feeds about 2,250 people a variety of local meals. Those who are not on a meal plan have heard of Localvore, and continue to come back to see if this year’s local dessert tops the last. There is another reason the dining commons is packed during Localvore. “All of this brings us closer together,” Pouliot said.
Annelise Kloster can be contacted at akloster@keene-equinox.com