Greetings from Dennis Pierce, Director of Dining Services

Fall Semester 2008

"We are indeed much more than we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than what we are."
- Adelle Davis -

Greetings:

Isn’t it interesting that we take food for granted? While we were children, our parents provided endless meals and snacks catering to our likes and dislikes. It seemed as if there was an endless supply of food. The only time there was a noticeable shortage was when we were warned of an upcoming storm and everyone ran to the store to stock up on milk and bread.

Weather conditions, the high cost of fuel, and other factors have driven up the price of food significantly in the past few years and futurists are predicting that brighter times are not on the horizon. If we realize that resources are limited, what are we, members of the UConn community, going to do about it? What is our role? Environmental stewardship is the responsibility for environmental quality. It is shared by all those whose actions affect the environment. Everyday, more than three hundred million Americans make countless choices that impact our environment. By being an active environmental steward, we can reduce those impacts and make a difference in the kind of world we live in today to pass on to future generations.

This year Dining Services is taking an active role in our own stewardship program. We will be responding to a waste water report by adding water flow regulators, continuing our trayless efforts that started last year to save on water and food waste, specify more efficient equipment and evaluate every opportunity to contribute to our Divisions and the University’s initiative to become better environmental stewards.

Last spring, two members of our staff, Stephen Anthony and Amy Gronus proposed the unique concept of hosting our own bees. Late spring we purchased ten bee hives and one hundred thousand bees. Approximately a mile away from center campus, adjacent to a university apple orchard, our bees thrive in harmony with the objective of providing local honey for our dining facilities. But it’s not just about the ability to offer local honey to you, our customers. Enabling bees to pollinate is good for the environment.

The National Academy of Sciences has reported that a crisis exists among North American pollinators – especially honey bees and native bumblebees. Colony collapse disorder has had a significant impact on the shortage of bees. Of about 240,000 flowering plants in North America, three quarters require the pollination of a bee, bird, bat or other animal or insect in order to bear fruit.

Losing bees would have repercussions throughout the food supply chain. So with pollinators in decline in general, and honey bees doing a disappearing act that could well be unprecedented in magnitude, there is reason for worry. In all of our initiatives we rely on your support and understanding. Please join us this year and be conscious of the impact that you have on the environment. Help us in being part of the solution.

Lastly, to keep in touch with Dining and the services we offer, please utilize our guidebook, UCuisine. If one is not available, because we will be printing less copies than usual, you can find all of our information on our website.

Please let us know how we can meet your needs. Your dining experience has to be a memorable one or we have failed to meet your expectations. Enjoy the semester, practice sustainability and make a conscious effort to make the most out of life.

Eat well, enjoy life and pursue your dreams.

C. Dennis Pierce
Director of Dining Services

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