100 Mile Meal celebrates local food

Real Food Hopkins hosted the fifth annual 100 Mile Meal, a dinner that only incorporated ingredients sourced from within 100 miles of campus, last Friday night in the Charles Commons Ballroom.

“We aim to bring together all members of the Hopkins community, from students at all levels to their parents and faculty,” sophomore Sarah Manning, secretary of Real Food Hopkins, said. “In addition, we brought in panel members from the CLF and a local farm. The event serves as a chance to educate others about making sustainable food choices, as well as encourages community members to work towards understanding where their food comes from. Not only do we aim to cook and serve a fantastic meal, but we also hope that event attendees will gain a new appreciation for locally-sourced food and will want to become involved.”

Members of Real Food Hopkins explained the youth-led food movement for a fair and just food system. The Goal of the Real Food Challenge, of which Real Food Hopkins is a chapter, is to have universities purchase 35 percent real food by 2020. Manning and Noah Erwin spoke about the progress that Hopkins has made towards this goal. Food that is considered real food is local, ecologically sound, fair and humane. Hopkins is currently purchasing approximately 26 percent real food.

Manning explained her reasons for joining Real Food Hopkins.

“I have been part of Real Food Hopkins since my freshman year,” said. “To me, the club, as well as the national Real Food Challenge, are important because I am a major proponent of transparency within the food system. Students should know where the food they are consuming is coming from. In addition, I am interested in food security and sustainable agriculture...The movement aims to shift university food purchasing to ‘real food’ and students hold their respective institutions accountable for supporting a fair and sustainable food system.”

Manning also discussed the intensive preparations that the members of Real Food Hopkins made for this event.

“All of the members of the club come together to prepare for this event. We split into different groups that are in charge of various aspects of the meal, such as marketing and operation,” Manning said. “We had to contact local farmers and food vendors, plan a menu, invite and write questions for the panelists, invite members of the Hopkins community to attend, and more. Most importantly, we needed to acquire the food and cook all of it,” Manning said.

Attendees served themselves from an array of healthful options sourced from local farms and farm cooperatives. Menu items included pumpkin spread, which contained pumpkin sourced from Pine Grove Farms, along with fresh ginger sourced from the Farm Alliance, as well as apple hot pepper jam featuring hot peppers from Pine Grove Farms and apples from Black Rock Orchard. These could be spread upon the warm maple cornbread, which was sweetened with locally made applesauce. A kale, red cabbage and apple salad included kale and red cabbage from One Straw Farm and apples from Black Rock Orchard. A rye berry pilaf featured Next Step Produce’s rye berries simmered in vegetable broth and herbs from the Blue Jay’s Perch community garden. Sweet potato and three bean chili was made from sweet potatoes and beans sourced from McCarthy Farm, as well as peppers from Pine Grove Farms. Kale and mushroom frittata featured South Mountain Creamery’s eggs baked with One Straw Farm kale and local mushrooms. The meal was served with apple cider and water, which were available in green compostable cups. Dessert consisted of honey-ginger poached pears, featuring Black Rock Orchard pears with local honey and ginger from the Farm Alliance and paired with homemade granola and Trickling Springs Sweet Cream ice cream.

The next portion of the evening's program involved a description of the interaction between the food system and labor, and featured four panelists with different perspectives on the food industry. Gladys Burell, a worker in the Fresh Food Cafe, discussed her career in the food service at Hopkins and her personal experience with the struggles of food service workers.

Megan Clayton, a graduate student in the Bloomberg School of Public Health, then discussed how the fair treatment of food service workers may lead to a better and more safe food system. Bill Connor, the Homewood Director of Dining Programs, discussed how Hopkins is working to meet the goals of the Real Food Challenge and how food service employees at Hopkins are treated equitably and fairly in the hope of ensuring a life for themselves and their families.

Blain Snipstal, founder of Five Seeds Farm, spoke about the his experience as a returning farmer and discussed the reasons why purchasing fresh and local food may be more difficult but is ultimately worthwhile. Following the panel, there was a question and answer session during which attendees could ask the panelists about the nature of the food industry.

Overall, Manning viewed the event as a success.

“It was fantastic to see all of our hard work pay off,” she said. “We had more people attend than last year and the event itself ran very smoothly. It most definitely lived up to my expectations and I hope others feel the same way.”