(1) What are some of the goals of the Dining Committee?

BA: The committee is a good way for Chartwells to measure the campus needs for students (residents and commuters), faculty/staff and catering events. They also strive and make sure that everyone is satisfied, such as the various groups on campus with different dietary needs (e.g., vegetarians).

The committee works to make UMBC dining greener, healthier and more interesting.

The committee encompasses all the dining facilities on campus, including True Grit’s, The Commons, Administration Coffee Shoppe, Skylight Room, catering events, vending machines, Chick-Fil-A, Starbucks, etc.

Chartwells wants to create a healthier student population in mind and body. A population  that is conscious of the effects of consuming on themselves and their environment.

To make campus dining more interesting/inviting, special themed food selections are presented in the dining hall. Some showcase different ethnic foods, and promote local food businesses.

LSM: Since we are the future leaders of America, everything Chartwells produces affects us, the way we think, operate and function on a daily basis. The committee wants to understand how dining, retail, and catering impacts the student population, health-wise and as a whole.

The Dining Committee contains representatives from specialized food interest groups, top Chartwells representatives, top campus chefs, CSA and RSA representatives members of the SGA, etc.

(2) What are some of your goals as a Dining Committee member?

BA: I am there to represent the CSA and to ensure that the general concerns on commuter dining are heard. I want commuters to get their full nutritional benefits while they are on campus.

LSM: To represent the commuter population. Chartwells needs to realize that their food is too expensive for commuters! Also there are not enough proper breakfast options for commuters. They come here early in the morning to get parking so they need fuel from the most important meal of the day. As a dining committee member I want to ensure that the quality of food is not sacrificed for the quantity.
(3) What is the dining committee’s stance on UMBC’s Sustainability Initiative?

BA: The Chartwells representatives are big on conserving food.

All food waste is placed in containers to keep track of and measure how much is being wasted throughout the year.

There have been discussions and plans of other green methods such as waste composting, but such plans are for the future, since they are not currently feasible. Nothing that I know of is definite;  ideas are definitely being bounced around.

Other current initiatives are the use of biodegradable food containers and utensils, as well as using farmed fish.

LSM: Lots of initiatives have been organized by Chartwells. For example, the food containers and eating utensils at Fresh Fusions are biodegradable. Utensils used at the Administration Coffee Shoppe are also eco-friendly.

The clear plastic cups at catering events are also biodegradable.

The tray removal from True Grit’s has also prevented students from overfeeding themselves. If one has a small plate, there is only so much that you can dish at one time. This also helps to cut back on food wastage.

(4) How is the Dining Committee changing on-campus food to cater to the specialized needs of different campus groups, such as vegetarians and vegans?

BA: There are committee members who represent these specialized dining interest groups.

Chartwells also attempts to cater to groups with food-intolerance needs. For example, Famous Famigilia Pizzeria now uses pizza crust that is gluten-free to cater to customers with gluten allergies.

In fact, a representative of the Muslim Student Association attended a meeting to thank Chartwells for catering Halal and boxed meals during Ramadan.

LSM: Chartwells uses any organic brands that are available and/or are vegan/vegetarian friendly. They either already have it, or they will order it for us. For example, the Stonyfield Farm yogurt for purchase at Outtakes is a vegan-friendly brand.

(5) What are your favorite places to eat off-campus?

BA: I don’t dine out too often. I prefer to cook for myself.

• Pizza 786

LSM: Yes! There are lots of hidden gems around the place.

• Tex Mex Burritos & Tacos – 5315 East Drive, Halethorpe, MD 21227 Ph: 410 242 4840.
• Kebob & Curry Café – 5313 East Drive, Halethorpe, MD 21227 Ph: (410) 737-7773
• Lucy’s Paradise – 6429 Frederick Rd, Catonsville, MD 21228-3504Café Ph: (410) 788-9530
• Indian Delight
• Tutti Frutti
• Yogi Castle
• Pho #1

Use the Urbanspoon.com. It’s your stomach’s best friend!

How is the University encouraging the campus to lead healthy lifestyles?

We are always encouraging the students, faculty, and staff to exercise and make healthy food choices. There are a number of efforts to discourage smoking and inappropriate drinking.

Because all of us are under a great deal of stress, there are a number of workshops on how to manage and reduce stress. It is also important to exercise, and it helps with stress. I am always encouraged by the Midnight Madness activity at the end of the semester and when I get a chance to go over there and see people laughing. Laughter is really great, to be able to not take things too seriously and encouraging community, encouraging people to help each other.

In the past few years, there has been a lot of media attention around food issues with the book Fast Food Nation, Food Inc, and others. Do you think the media is exaggerating the problem?

We should be very concerned about obesity and bad eating habits. Large numbers of Americans are overweight and we see that children are making unhealthy choices often because they are given the wrong choices in schools. School systems have been working to become healthier in their options for children. I would say we can never talk too much about these problems.

Students at UMBC are encouraged to develop leadership skills and prepare to become future leaders in their field. Was it a conscious decision that you made to become a leader?

I was a child leader in the civil rights movement and I became involved because I wanted to see a change in the way children were treated. I was very fortunate to observe leaders that were compassionate, smart, hard working with strong values focused on making a difference in the lives of other people. True leadership is not about one person, but about groups of people that with a vision of what they want the world to become. Later on, as I became increasingly excited about education I thought about becoming a leader in the academic world.

I am very impressed by the leadership opportunities students have on campus. These opportunities give students, who will be leaders in their fields, a chance to think about what it means to lead. Students in college are preparing for professional careers and the best way to become a leader is to get a chance to do it while in college.

What valuable lessons have you learned about being a leader?

In a campus that is healthy, the term we use is ‘shared governance’. It means that leadership is spread among a lot of people. Faculty, staff, and students all serve as leaders. We learn to listen carefully to the voices of people affected by the decisions of leaders. Perhaps the most important lesson I’ve learned is that the quality of the decision making will depend upon the trust among the people making the decision and the willingness of the people called leaders to listen to the voices of others.

Special thanks to President Hrabowski for meeting with Food Blogger Alison to discuss these issues.

- Alison

Dr. Warren Belasco is a professor of American studies here at UMBC teaching the course “American Food” that he has been teaching for almost 25 years. He is also a prolific author, publishing many books on the subject including a textbook that is a prime resource for the subject.

In his course, he tries to open up people’s appreciation to how magical food is, how people establish their identities through food, and how much food and culture are intertwined. Food is an essential part of our lives, especially our social lives: “It is hard to have a social event without some kind of food or drink, a positive one anyway”.

So, what is American food? Some argue that there is no true American food, that our cuisine is simply borrowed from other places but Dr. Belasco disagrees, “I don’t buy that, at the very least it is an amalgam of many different cultures that have come together, it is a very multicultural, diverse food culture. There are strong regional traditions from food.” Chefs and experts are now trying to discover what those traditions are and use them to create healthier dishes.

But he isn’t nostalgic about our food history. “If you look at what ordinary people ate in the past, it wasn’t always so good. There was hunger and often times in the year when you couldn’t get a vegetable and cooking was primitive without stovetops and ovens in the home”.

He hopes people become more informed about the chemicals in the food they purchase and how it is produced. But he acknowledges that this is one of the great challenges of making healthy foods accessible, especially to those who have limited funds and resources to obtain them. Retail grocers that boast foods that are organic and sustainably produced are out of reach for many. According to Dr. Belasco, Wal-Mart has become the largest retailer of organic food. “But,” he says “I wouldn’t shop there either”.

What’s the answer? Dr. Belasco is hopeful about the future. Alternative and sustainable options are out there, and more are being developed. Growing public awareness and concern about the many implications of how we produce and consume food is generating alternative and sustainable options.

UMBC students are working in cooperation with Baltimore County Public Schools on The Baltimore School Food Project that is working to educate school-age children about how healthy fresh food is grown and cooked and to improve school food for children.

- Alison