College Students Unite to Declare Revolution in Campus Dining

Hoping to spark a revolution in colleges across the nation, students attending a summit at Yale last weekend ratified “The Real Food Declaration,” a document calling for radical changes in campus dining hall practices — favoring foods that are “locally grown,” “organic” and “heirloom” over those that are “fuel-intensive,” “processed” and “genetically engineered.”

Hoping to spark a revolution in colleges across the nation, students attending a summit at Yale last weekend ratified “The Real Food Declaration,” a document calling for radical changes in campus dining hall practices — favoring foods that are “locally grown,” “organic” and “heirloom” over those that are “fuel-intensive,” “processed” and “genetically engineered.”

The weekend-long summit, which brought 150 students from 45 northeastern colleges to the Yale campus, was organized by the Yale Sustainable Food Project (YSFP), the Food Project in Boston and the Brown Sustainable Food Initiative.

“Seeing so many dedicated students coming to Yale to work together and learn from each other was awe-inspiring,” said Anastatia Curley, communications coordinator for the Yale Sustainable Food Project.  “To be a host and a hub for this kind of work and change is tremendously exciting for us,” she added.

The organizers of the event hope that the document, which students brought back to their college administrators, will galvanize a national student movement around food and agriculture.

“Institutions of higher learning have a powerful impact on their students and surrounding communities,” reads the declaration. “By virtue of their educational missions, community-building potential, and purchasing power, colleges and universities have a unique responsibility to act as models for the rest of society, and to cultivate socially responsible students as citizens and leaders.”

The declaration calls for schools to cultivate strong relationships with nearby farmers and food producers by serving fresh, locally raised food in their dining halls and urges the development of educational programs to increase student knowledge of the many social, economic, environmental and nutritional implications of food. The document also recommends the establishment of on-campus farms and gardens to teach students principles of organic growing as well as to produce fruit and vegetables for their own consumption.

A copy of “The Real Food Declaration” is available for download.

The Yale Sustainable Food Project was founded in 2001 by Yale students, faculty and staff, Yale University President Richard Levin and Alice Waters, owner of Chez Panisse Restaurant.  It was established with the understanding that many of the world’s most important questions regarding health, culture, the environment and the global economy are deeply connected to what we eat and how it is produced.  The Sustainable Food Project seeks to foster a culture that draws meaning and pleasure from the connections among people, land, and food.

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Media Contact

Dorie Baker: dorie.baker@yale.edu, 203-432-1345