University Dining is committed to purchasing as much food as possible from local vendors to support small farms and conserve energy associated with long-distance transportation. In FY15, the university committed to surpassing statewide procurement standards in this area and was already sourcing one-quarter of dining hall food expenditures from such locations.[1]

In order to increase the university’s use of local food, we must:

1. Define the term “local” and enforce appropriate standards;

2. Identify the most efficient produce items to locally source based on factors like growing season; and

3. Measure total energy expended as a result of local purchasing as compared with long-distance transportation and make determinations based on the resulting data.

Speaking to the first of these, the Illinois Local Food, Farms, and Jobs Act[2] calls for State agencies and facilities to locally purchase 20% of farm and food products by 2020 and defines “local farm or food products” as “products (1) grown in Illinois; or (2) processed and packaged in Illinois, using at least one ingredient grown in Illinois.” Moving forward, we can assign a student to collaborate with campus stakeholders to establish a shared and flexible definition of “local food.”

[1] https://bit.ly/312IAs7 
[2] https://bit.ly/2Xa3DYz