Local Routes Program

About Local Routes

The University of Connecticut Department of Dining Services supports and promotes the use of local foods in its food service operations. The State of Connecticut and the surrounding New England region provide many of the foods we use in our operations across campus. Omar Coffee, Bigelow Tea and Garelick Farms Dairy are a few of our local suppliers.

Whitney Dining Unit features UConn's Sustainable Dining Program. The menu at Whitney has been designed to feature delicious local, sustainable ingredients. We have built our menu around the seasons, creating mouth-watering dishes that highlight the bounty of our region.

We are working with others in the UConn community to support sustainability on campus. Cage free eggs from the University of Connecticut Poultry Program are served at Whitney and produce (when available) from the EcoGarden Club, a completely student-run garden just north of the Storrs campus, is prominently featured on the Whitney menu.

Coming in 2008

• NACUFS Sustainability Sub Regional Training Event to be Held at Whitney Dining on Thursday, January 10, 2008. Learn more »

Highlights from 2007

• Spring Fling 2007 The 2007 Spring Fling was a rousing success with great food, live music by Peter Tork, formerly of the Monkees, and his band, Shoe Suede Blues, and local vendors rounding out the event. A great time was had by all.
• Celebrate Connecticut Week & Chili Cook-Off took place in September 2007. Special local food dinners were held in all eight dining units on campus throughout the week. Members of UConn's own culinary staff competed for honors in our first ever Local Routes Chili Cook Off on a beautiful fall day. Over 200 people sampled and voted for their favorite chili made from locally grown ingredients.
  Highlights from Celebrate Connecticut Week & Chili Cook-Off»
• Outreach will play an increasingly important role in the Local Routes Program. Sharing what we have learned over the past year, contributing to local food projects in the State of Connecticut and helping other intitutions develop their own local food programs will benefit Connecticut farmers, and the economy.
• Sourcing Connecticut-Grown Products through purchasing for Whitney Dining Hall will be made a priority in 2007. While using and promoting regional New England agriculture is important, it is vital that we do our part at UConn to support the development of a successful Connecticut food system. In doing so, we will help sustain Connecticut's family farmers, preserve Connecticut's dwindling farmland, reduce greenhouse gases produced in transit by foods transported to UConn, and become a force for positive change in the State of Connecticut.

Highlights From 2006

• Whitney Dining Hall went through a transformation in the fall of 2006. New recipes were developed, menus were rewritten, chefs were hired and trained and UConn's first sustainable, local food dining hall was born. Menus were built around the seasons, vegetables were fresh and locally grown, natural meats were sourced from the New England region (including Connecticut), and processed foods were all but eliminated from the daily offerings at Whitney. Positive comments from our student diners and staff, as well as increased customer counts have shown that there is a definite interest in local and sustainable food on campus.
• The UConn EcoGarden Club was one of the most important organizations to partner with the Local Routes Program in 2006. This impressive group of University students started a garden on a patch of land not far from campus, with the hope of selling their produce to Dining Services. When harvest ended, Whitney Dining Hall had spent over $900 on produce raised by UConn students, on UConn land, in a sustainable garden, using organic growing practices. It doesn't get closer to home than that!
• UConn Cage-Free Eggs are now served at Whitney Dining Hall. This allows us to incorporate good animal care practices into the Local Routes Program, as well as support the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
• UConn Eggs from caged chickens are available to all dining units on campus and are currently purchased by McMahon, Buckley, Putnam and Northwest.
• The Second Annual Local Routes Spring Fling took place in April. We welcomed spring in 2006 with this outdoor festival where over 500 people were fed. Connecticut-raised beef burgers and hot dogs from Four Mile River Farm in Old Lyme anchored a menu of local foods. We opened farmer's market season with a market and craft fair featuring local vendors. Local entertainment, including the Stiltaristas, a Willimantic based stilt walking group, along with music from the Can Kickers, a New London based band, added to a festive atmosphere.
  Highlights from Spring Fling 2006 »
• Celebrate Connecticut Week took place in October 2006. Special local food dinners were held in all eight dining units on campus throughout the week. Members of UConn's own culinary staff competed for honors in our first ever Local Routes Chili Cook Off on a blustery, rainy fall day. Over 200 people sampled and voted for their favorite chili made from locally grown ingredients.
  Highlights from Celebrate Connecticut Week »
• A New England Winter's Feast was held at Whitney Dining Hall in December 2006. Tiny Whitney Hall, that feeds 300 people on a normally busy night, fed 500 diners a meal featuring foods from Connecticut's fields, pastures and seas. The atmosphere was festive, the food was delicious and we all felt especially satisfied to have supported local farmers, fishermen and food producers.

The Local Routes Mission Statement

The goal of the Department of Dining Services’ Local Routes program is to develop interest in locally produced foods among the university community. By holding Local Routes Fairs and encouraging the use of local foods through on-campus food service operations, the Department of Dining Services will focus on supporting and promoting the use of local and sustainable foods. Through education and interaction, the Local Routes Program will encourage the support of local food producers and businesses that sell locally grown foods.

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