In an effort to promote healthy eating, the dining team at Paresky Commons hosted a “Farm to Fork” dinner over Family Weekend.
The dinner featured food from eight different farms located in Massachusetts and Rhode Island and was held in the Smith Center to accommodate the large number of students and family members in attendance.
“We knew the parents were coming and that we were going to be in this big building and we would need a streamlined menu… so it was just the perfect night to do [the Farm to Fork dinner],” said Michael Giampa, Food Service Director, who organized the event with Paul Robarge, Senior Director of Aramark, and David Rossetto, Executive Chef at Paresky.
The menu consisted of turkey, mashed potatoes, butternut squash, pumpkin Thai curry and cranberry sauce.
According to Giampa, the Farm to Fork initiative benefits local farms.
“The farms are getting the prices they want to get, so it’s supporting them directly,” said Giampa.
Andover will continue to source food from local farms such as Mann Orchards in Methuen, Mass. and Crescent Farms in Haverhill, Mass. for the rest of the year, while some of the partnerships, including the partnership with Raymond’s Turkey Farm in Methuen, Mass., were one-time partnerships and will not be continued due to the heightened cost of locally grown food.
