Farms & Fields may open late Friday 10/15

The Farms & Fields Project is undergoing some minor renovations this Friday, October 15th. Work will begin early that morning but may not be complete for the usual opening time of 10:30. Thank you in advance for your patience as we complete this project. We hope to be open and providing our usual tasty, local, and sustainable fare to you as soon as possible on Friday.

Ytoss? May 8th-13th–volunteers needed!

Ytoss? it when you can pass it on? 

Campus and community volunteers needed!

Help us collect donations (you can study for exams too!) at any 7 outdoor collection point on campus.  Or assist at the Y Center with sorting, moving and storing of donations. If you give 4+ hours you will receive a free Ytoss? tee made of recycled fabrics.

Visit www.ytoss.weebly.com for more info and to sign up.

Questions? Call the YMCA at Virginia Tech at (540)231-3734 or visit us at 312 Squires Student Center.

If these dates don’t work for you, visit www.vtymca.org for info on the Ytoss? at Radford University, May 4-7.

Volunteers and donations needed there also.

If you can’t volunteer, then donate!

Donate your gently used items – electronics, furniture, clothing, TVs, hutches, non-perishable food, laundry detergent (even if it’s open!) and paper products – at our campus collection points:

May 8 through May 13, 10:30am-6:30pm.

Virginia Tech Campus Collection points include:

Slusher Beach

West End

The Prairie (2 locations)

President’s Quad

Owen’s Quad

Upper Quad (Shanks/Monteith).

Boxes will be available for drop offs at Oak Lane Housing and the Graduate Life Center.

AFTER HOURS collection boxes will be located on the first floors of Lee, Pritchard, Slusher and AJ.

Drop offs can also be made at the Blacksburg YMCA Thrift Store, 1000 North Main St.  Just tell them it’s for Ytoss?!

Our Ytoss? Sale of these items will take place during August Move-In.  Be on the lookout for more details later.

Sustainable Dining Q&A Session at Deets Wed. April 21 at 6:30

Come out to learn more about what Dining Services is working on while eating great local ice cream. Also look for local menu items in dining centers on campus throughout the day offered in cooperation with the Environmental Coalition at Virginia Tech.

Reusable Bottles on sale at Owens Food Court for Earth Week & Special Earth Day Meal on 4/22

Owens Food Court will have reusable bottles for sale during Earth Week, April 19-23. Thanks to students Alex Funk, Kyle Gardiner, Nathan Latka, and Kara Dodson for their hard work to make this initiative happen! Details:

• Purchase at the registers for $10 cash or Dining Dollars, $20 Flex.
• Use the bottle in any a la carte self service location for free water and 10 cents off fountain drinks (no milk, coffee, or juice).
• This is the only reusable bottle approved for use in Housing & Dining Services’ dining centers.
• Enter to win a bottle by eating at Farms & Fields during Earth Week. Deposit your Farms & Fields receipt with your name and VT email address on the back of receipt into the ballot box located at Farms & Fields.

After you present your Action Project displays on the drillfield on Thursday, April 22nd, head to Owens Food Court from 5:00-7:30 for the Earth Day Special Meal featuring a local and organic menu ($5.15 Flex, $13.60 cash, Dining Dollars, or Hokie Passport). Hear from over a dozen environmental organizations and businesses working with Dining Services to promote sustainability on campus in an educational forum.

The special meal on 4/22 will also feature a local, organic, GMO-free tofu carving contest! Participation is limited to 15 individuals or small teams. Please email me at rbudowle@vt.edu if you’d like to enter the competition!

Farmers Market on Campus at GLC Plaza 4/20 10am-2pm

This event is being organized by undergraduate students dedicated to promoting local foods and campus-community collaboration! Check out their PSA for the event:

Dining Services Garden Naming Contest-Win $25 in Dining Dollars!

Virginia Tech Dining Services has its own garden! Beginning in 2009 through a partnership with the College of Agriculture and Life Science’s Kentland Farm, Dining Services began growing local, sustainably managed herbs. This season, the garden will be expanded to a whole acre of sustainably produced vegetables. You can find these products in Fall 2010 at the Farms & Fields Project at Owens Food Court and in other Dining Centers across campus. It doesn’t get much more local than that!

Students: we need your help to develop a name for the garden plot and promote this exciting project. Please enter your ideas and contact information at the link below by Friday, April 23, 2010 (one entry per student, please):
https://survey.vt.edu/survey/entry.jsp?id=1270148664986

The winning entry will receive $25 in Dining Dollars! Thank you for helping us in our efforts to provide local and sustainable food in Virginia Tech Dining Services!


Blacksburg Farmers Market Student Survey

Please take a moment to complete the following student survey for the Blacksburg Farmers Market:

https://survey.vt.edu/survey/entry.jsp?id=1269998437660

The market is interested in hearing all student voices, but especially interested in hearing from students who do not regularly attend the market.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!
Friends of the Blacksburg Farmers Market

Farms & Fields now serving local Homestead Creamery milk and ice cream!

The Farms & Fields Project is welcoming spring with new local menu items! You can now find local Homestead Creamery milk and ice cream daily at Farms & Fields. The one ice cream flavor will rotate, and both whole and skim milk are currently available. The milk is even served from old-fashioned glass bottles into a glass mason jar for you to drink from–no plastic! (Please remember to put mason jars on the dish return.)

Homestead Creamery’s cows are raised with access  to pasture in nearby Franklin County. The milk is free of synthetic growth hormones and antibiotics and is minimally pasteurized. Supporting local, farm-fresh food never tasted so good!

Attention graduating seniors: AmeriCorps VISTA NRV Hunger Relief Coordinator position

Dining Services currently diverts all leftover, edible grab-n-go items to two local hunger relief agencies every day of the week. We are also piloting “hot” food diversion at D2, to make sure that any unavoidable excess food is delivered to those in the community that need it.

If you are a graduating senior (or an already graduated member of the community) interested in helping VT and the community to further establish programs such as these, please consider applying for the following position:

The YMCA at Virginia Tech and VT’s Center for Student Engagement and Community Partnerships (CSECP) have a new AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer position. The volunteer will help build the capacity of local food pantries and hunger relief agencies in the New River Valley by identifying and addressing their needs through the YMCA at VT’s Neighborhood Harvest Program and cultivating partnerships with and among the following constituencies: interested hunger relief agencies/programs, local farmers/residence, and Virginia Tech. For more information about this exciting position, please view the cragislist ad. Cover letter, one page resume, and potential availability for an interview on March 1st-4th should be mailed/emailed to:

Jake Grohs

jrgrohs@vt.edu

1250 Litton Reaves Hall (0168)

Blacksburg , VA 24061

APPLICATION DEADLINE: February 27th, 11:59 PM>

Local Food at Farms & Fields

We’ve chosen not to put a mile-cap on the concept of “local” for our farm-fresh food at Farms & Fields. To reduce food miles and support the local economy, we strive to bring you food that is produced as close to Virginia Tech as possible. Sometimes that will be 200 miles away, and sometimes that will be less than 10 miles away, from our very own garden. Either way, expect to find local food produced in Virginia and the closest regions of North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

We believe that transparency is important to creating a more sustainable food system. If you ever want to know more abut exactly where your food comes from or how it is produced, contact Dining Services’ Sustainability Coordinator, Rachael Budowle, at rbudowle@vt.edu.