Local Food Is on the Menu at the University of Colorado
It’s easy to imagine that between the stress of school courses, internships, and social lives, most college students don’t think too deeply about where the food in their dining halls comes from. At the University of Colorado Boulder, however, the dining halls go above and beyond to put something equally delicious and impactful on their students’ plates.
Earlier this year, the CU Boulder’s Dining Services received an award from the Humane Society of the United States. The animal rights organization ranked CU Boulder as the No. 1 post-secondary institution for plant-based dining and sustainability, celebrating its commitment to minimizing environmental impacts while also supporting animal welfare.
Walking through the dining hall at the Center for Community (affectionately known by students and faculty as the C4C), it’s clear that the recognition is well-deserved. Just one of three dining centers on campus, it hosts ten stations that serve everything from hand-tossed pizzas to build-your-own açai bowls. Hidden behind the obvious yet noteworthy celebration of global cuisines, cultures, and plant-based foods, there’s another layer of excellence to be found: the ingredients.
Eliah Golden, Associate Director and Executive Chef for the University of Colorado Boulder’s Dining Services, joined the team at CU Boulder after years of working for some of Boulder’s most loved local restaurants. Responsible for procurement, she frequently ordered fresh produce from local farms and experienced firsthand how the quality and flavor of these ingredients could transform a dish.
Transitioning from restaurant procurement to feeding more than 15,000 students a day is no small step. It’s taken years of hard work and valuable lessons learned (including the discovery that purple carrots create an unusually colored broth) to get to where they are today. Like many operations of their scale, the University of Colorado Boulder has its largest contract with a regional wholesale supplier that helps source food not just for the dining halls, but also for its catering program, campus cafes, and convenience stores. The university also operates its very own 3,000 square foot greenhouse, where it grows lettuces using aeroponic towers that eventually make their way into menus across campus. Golden has expanded their sourcing program to secure additional ingredients directly from farmers and a new, smaller wholesale partner: Boulder County Farmers Markets’ Food Hub.
Photo: Eliah Golden, Associate Director and Executive Chef for the University of Colorado Boulder’s Dining Services
The Food Hub provides opportunities for local businesses and restaurants to purchase local products in bulk. With farmers’ best interest in mind, the program focuses on aggregating products, offloading excess inventory (hello, late summer tomatoes!), and providing fair prices for both producers and customers. “The fact that we are getting produce into our menus in the winter is already a victory,” said Golden of working with the Food Hub. Through this collaboration, Golden said, the Dining Services has already exceeded its goal of local procurement for the year.
Golden’s philosophy behind local procurement isn’t just about putting funds back into the local economy, but also using food as an educational tool to teach students about Colorado agriculture and sustainability. One example of this is the Colorado Chili, made with Grama Grass & Livestock beef and Van Thuyne pinto beans. By highlighting the locality of the ingredients, Golden hopes to spark curiosity and connection with food for students.
For others looking to make the transition to local ingredients, Golden suggests starting small. “Is it just peaches?” she asked. “It will have a longer impact if you think about just starting with one special meal a month. Don’t let the pursuit of perfection kill progress.”
Recipe: CU Campus Dining’s Sim Saag
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp ghee or oil of choice
2 cups local potatoes, large dice
1 Tbsp dried thai chili peppers (can omit or adjust spiciness)
1/2-pound local daikon radish, peeled and diced
¼ tsp ground turmeric
1 ½ tsp ground cumin seed
¼ tsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp fresh garlic, minced
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced or finely grated
1 cup fresh tomatoes, diced
1 quart packed watercress (or spinach, chard, etc.)
2 cups fresh mung bean sprouts
2 Tbsp green onion, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Heat ghee or oil in a large pot or wok. Add dried chilis and potatoes and cook for 6-8
minutes, stirring frequently. Add daikon radish, turmeric, cumin, coriander, garlic, ginger
and tomato, salt and pepper, and cook on medium high heat until potatoes are tender.
Add the watercress (or greens of your choice) and mung sprouts and cook for 2-3
minutes. Serve immediately over rice.
