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Youth Education
The picture above indeed captures the future of alternative transportation. A City Wheels hybrid at the Environmental Studies Center in Oberlin is parked next to an Amish buggy from south of Wellington. Which one is highly fuel efficient and which one runs off of oats? The Amish family traveled to Oberlin to join other farmers, students, and dining service managers as a part of a local foods forum and celebration. The NAC worked with Oberlin students to moderate a forum with five family farmers which focused on opportunities for local marketing to area institutions.
The
greenhouse pictured to the right is a heated greenhouse that runs off of waste
vegetable oil collected from dining halls at Oberlin College. The greenhouse
was purchased through a contribution by Bon Appetite, the national service
management company that operates Oberlin’s dining halls.Bon Appetite
is a pioneer in food service management, making local food purchasing a top
priority through its Farm to Fork program. The greenhouse purchase represents
a pioneering effort on the part of the company to invest in the infrastructure
to expand the capacity for farmers to supply local markets. Following the Oberlin
investment, Bon Appetite purchased high-tunnels to support another farm in
Pennsylvania that supplies Grove City College. With $750,000 spent on local
food by Oberlin College in 2005-06, Bon Appetite provides a good model for
corporate investment in community economic development in the very communities
that they serve.