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Teaching with Food; Parkhurst's Farm Partnership with Delaware Valley College
Bucks County Courier Times/Intelligencer

Frank Hummel is going to have to come up with some good recipes for apples.

Lots and lots of apples.

Those apples — 17 varieties, in fact — are grown and harvested at Delaware Valley College, where Hummel is executive chef for food service provider Parkhurst Dining Services.

Del Val and Parkhurst are in the second year of a partnership that uses produce grown and harvested by students to feed students. The partnership is part of Parkhurst’s companywide FarmSource local food buying initiative, which purchases more than $18 million in locally made or grown products nationwide each year.

For Del Val, the partnership not only provides an additional outlet for food produced on campus, but also creates a teaching opportunity for students in the college’s agricultural programs.

“We have something that most of society wants: a better understanding of where food comes from,” said Russell Redding, dean of agriculture and environmental sciences at Del Val and a former Pennsylvania agriculture secretary. “It’s a good life lesson for students.”

Allegheny County-based Eat’n Park Hospitality Group, the parent company of Parkhurst, aims to have 20 percent of its products come from local sources, said Jamie Moore, the company’s director of sourcing and sustainability. Del Val surpassed that amount last year, the first year of Parkhurst’s contract with the college, Moore and Hummel said.

“We’re a regionally based company,” Moore said. “We’re not a national chain. We promote local just because of where we’re at in the communities we’re involved in. It’s become part of our makeup.”

At Del Val, Parkhurst uses produce grown on the college’s farms. Ground beef and hamburger come from the college’s dairy cows.

The college also sells products wholesale and at its farmer’s market.

Del Val and Parkhurst have been working to grow the program. Hummel has created an “A list” of items he would like on a regular basis, including milk and certain vegetables. And Parkhurst would like to make Del Val the source for other clients in the area, although that goal is several years away.

The college and Parkhurst must overcome several challenges.

First and foremost, the growing season doesn’t match up with the academic year. Students aren’t on campus during the summer harvest, and planting crops during the winter, the heart of their academic year, isn’t always possible.

To compensate, faculty and farmers are experimenting with different crops and different ways to grow crops, creating another teaching moment for the students, said Scott Smith, an assistant farmer at the college.

“We’re first in the education business,” Redding said. “Whatever we do with our land has to have an academic component. In some cases, you can draw a straight line between the classroom and the crop.”

Cost is also an issue. Parkhurst pays the college for items it uses. But some things, like milk and beef, have to be shipped off campus to be processed, which drives up Del Val’s cost and may make it too expensive for Parkhurst.

“We have to make sure they’re not going to go broke,” Moore said. “What is sustainable for these farmers?”

There’s also a question of volume and labor. Can the college produce enough on its 1,000 farm acres, and how can it work the farms over the summer?

Those questions will be answered as Del Val and Parkhurst continue their relationship, Redding said.

“There is opportunity,” Redding said. “There will be growing pains. But that’s an important lesson. When you enter a new market, there will be challenges and we’ll use this experience as a teachable moment.”

Whenever Del Val products are used — Parkhurst also buys from Lancaster Farm Fresh and Common Market food cooperatives — Hummel makes sure there are signs to let students know they’re eating things that they’ve produced.

“They (students) respond to it big time,” said Tony Williams, general manager of Parkhurst at Del Val. “The students love it when we use their products.”

Hummel said he tailors menus based on available foods, and can change quickly if new products come in. That includes apples from Del Val’s orchards.

“I’m all about local produce, local products,” Hummel said. “To me, it’s great, using the stuff that’s right here on campus.”



View original article here
Teaching with Food; Parkhurst's Farm Partnership with Delaware Valley College
Bucks County Courier Times/Intelligencer

Frank Hummel is going to have to come up with some good recipes for apples.

Lots and lots of apples.

Those apples — 17 varieties, in fact — are grown and harvested at Delaware Valley College, where Hummel is executive chef for food service provider Parkhurst Dining Services.

Del Val and Parkhurst are in the second year of a partnership that uses produce grown and harvested by students to feed students. The partnership is part of Parkhurst’s companywide FarmSource local food buying initiative, which purchases more than $18 million in locally made or grown products nationwide each year.

For Del Val, the partnership not only provides an additional outlet for food produced on campus, but also creates a teaching opportunity for students in the college’s agricultural programs.

“We have something that most of society wants: a better understanding of where food comes from,” said Russell Redding, dean of agriculture and environmental sciences at Del Val and a former Pennsylvania agriculture secretary. “It’s a good life lesson for students.”

Allegheny County-based Eat’n Park Hospitality Group, the parent company of Parkhurst, aims to have 20 percent of its products come from local sources, said Jamie Moore, the company’s director of sourcing and sustainability. Del Val surpassed that amount last year, the first year of Parkhurst’s contract with the college, Moore and Hummel said.

“We’re a regionally based company,” Moore said. “We’re not a national chain. We promote local just because of where we’re at in the communities we’re involved in. It’s become part of our makeup.”

At Del Val, Parkhurst uses produce grown on the college’s farms. Ground beef and hamburger come from the college’s dairy cows.

The college also sells products wholesale and at its farmer’s market.

Del Val and Parkhurst have been working to grow the program. Hummel has created an “A list” of items he would like on a regular basis, including milk and certain vegetables. And Parkhurst would like to make Del Val the source for other clients in the area, although that goal is several years away.

The college and Parkhurst must overcome several challenges.

First and foremost, the growing season doesn’t match up with the academic year. Students aren’t on campus during the summer harvest, and planting crops during the winter, the heart of their academic year, isn’t always possible.

To compensate, faculty and farmers are experimenting with different crops and different ways to grow crops, creating another teaching moment for the students, said Scott Smith, an assistant farmer at the college.

“We’re first in the education business,” Redding said. “Whatever we do with our land has to have an academic component. In some cases, you can draw a straight line between the classroom and the crop.”

Cost is also an issue. Parkhurst pays the college for items it uses. But some things, like milk and beef, have to be shipped off campus to be processed, which drives up Del Val’s cost and may make it too expensive for Parkhurst.

“We have to make sure they’re not going to go broke,” Moore said. “What is sustainable for these farmers?”

There’s also a question of volume and labor. Can the college produce enough on its 1,000 farm acres, and how can it work the farms over the summer?

Those questions will be answered as Del Val and Parkhurst continue their relationship, Redding said.

“There is opportunity,” Redding said. “There will be growing pains. But that’s an important lesson. When you enter a new market, there will be challenges and we’ll use this experience as a teachable moment.”

Whenever Del Val products are used — Parkhurst also buys from Lancaster Farm Fresh and Common Market food cooperatives — Hummel makes sure there are signs to let students know they’re eating things that they’ve produced.

“They (students) respond to it big time,” said Tony Williams, general manager of Parkhurst at Del Val. “The students love it when we use their products.”

Hummel said he tailors menus based on available foods, and can change quickly if new products come in. That includes apples from Del Val’s orchards.

“I’m all about local produce, local products,” Hummel said. “To me, it’s great, using the stuff that’s right here on campus.”



View original article here