Missouri grown apples featured at Plaza 900
By Alice Roach

MU Campus Dining Services has teamed up with the Food Circles Networking Project and the Missouri Rural Crisis Center to bring Missouri-grown food products to campus dining facilities. Most recently, Missouri-grown apples have graced the menu in Plaza 900.

Mary Hendrickson, coordinator of the Food Circles Networking Project and assistant professor of rural sociology, helped organize the apples coming to MU. She believes students have embraced the locally grown apples as a campus dining option and are beginning to recognize the importance of supporting local producers.

“Students sense what is going on, and they have retained the idea,” Hendrickson said. “It is cool that Campus Dining Services has gone out of the way for them.”

According to Hendrickson, while consuming local products may be tasty, healthy, different and fun, in reality, featuring these foods strengthens communities, encourages entrepreneurship and innovation, and lends itself to developing vibrant communities. An increase in the popularity and consumption of local products also could be beneficial for young people in agriculture.

“It’s good for young people going back to the farm and for them meeting the demand for healthy, fresh and local foods,” Hendrickson said.

Julaine Kiehn, director of Campus Dining Services, became vested in the project because it was a way to showcase Missouri’s food products in a positive light.

“It exposes students to locally grown food products,” Kiehn said. “These students may go home and tell their parents about it or look for local products in the grocery store — the more exposure the better.”

The first shipment of apples arrived Oct. 18 and the last shipment should arrive Nov. 16. Around 1,200 to 1,600 apples have been brought in each week, depending upon demand. The apples came from either Peters Orchards in Waverly, Mo., or Rasa Orchards in Lexington, Mo.

Norman Rasa, partner in the Rasa Orchards, has sent about 600 apples a week from his orchard to Campus Dining Services. He appreciates MU incorporating local products into menus.

“It is a sign they are using local products, and a lot more should,” Rasa said. “The more we sell locally, the better off we all are. It helps the local economy and Missouri agriculture as a whole. That’s the basic thing.”

The Missouri Rural Crisis Center sets a goal of protecting local producers and their products.

“We are trying to keep family farms a viable option by promoting local food, stopping the takeover of the agriculture industry by corporations and educating the populous about what is going on in the agriculture industry,” said Tim Gibbons, director of communications for the Missouri Rural Crisis Center.

Using more local apple products, according to Gibbons, could eventually contribute to an increase in the number of apple producers, which could then lead to an increase in the number of local products available. The university’s commitment to locally grown products serves as a link to increasing awareness of local products and could encourage local producers.

“You don’t see it everyday for a university providing local-grown products,” Gibbons said. “They (producers) see how there are people that really care about local foods and that they are important in their rural communities.”

Encouraging of local foods can help recreate a connection to rural communities while assisting producers in these areas.

“Rural communities are an important part of our cultural heritage,” Hendrickson said. “Food production is an entrepreneurship strategy for rural communities. I want these communities to have the same opportunities as other places.”

In addition to apples in Plaza 900, Campus Dining Services has used peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes produced this year at the MU Bradford Research and Extension Center. Campus Dining Services is easing into stocking more local products. One future plan is to host a meal featuring Missouri-grown products in the spring.

“Over time we can get more products and more varieties,” Kiehn said. “We’re looking forward to it. It’s a positive thing to do for sustainability, the economy and our customers. It’s a win, win, win.”.

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