Local Foods featured at Make a Difference Day

After painting fences, raking leaves, collecting trash and reshingling a roof, Make a Difference Day volunteers were treated to a local foods luncheon in Allegheny College's Campus Center. Parkhurst Dining Services prepared a menu featuring sweet potato soup, a mixed greens salad, barbecued turkey, eggplant sandwiches and pasta salad with roasted vegetables. Professor of Environmental Science and Director of the Local Foods Network, Jennifer DeHart also worked with students to create informational displays and a slide show spotlighting local farms and farmers. In addition, Students for Environmental Action created table tents with local foods factoids.

Community Partnerships

Center for Economic and Environmental Development (CEED)
CEED engages Allegheny students, faculty and the community in creating innovative approaches to environmental stewardship, education, and regional revitalization. Projects include:

• Arts & the Environment
• Creek Connections
• Ecotourism
• Environmental Health
• Environmental Writing
• Local Foods
• Strategic Environmental Management
• Sustainable Communities
• Sustainable Forestry
• Sustainable Manufacturing

Local Foods
The Allegheny College community supports the production and consumption of local foods in multiple ways. CEED's Local Foods project organizes and empowers local growers, while our dining service, Parkhurst brings local foods to our dining halls through its FarmSource program. This includes produce and baked goods from Fresh From the Vines and bread and rolls from Creative Crust, a local family owned bakery. In addition, Allegheny College hosts an annual Local Foods Dinner to educate the community about the benefits of eating locally.

Wind
Allegheny College faculty and students are collaborating with local manufacturer Acutec Precision Machining to produce a wind feasibility study. The project will examine wind and power potential, GIS, appropriate turbine types, and economic feasibility.

Creek Connections
At the heart of the nationally recognized Creek Connections program is a collaboration between the college and public school districts in western Pennsylvania and New York for the purpose of encouraging natural science education through hands-on field and laboratory experiences.

PA Home Energy
Beginning as a CEED program, the Meadville Community Energy Project has matured into PA Home Energy, a now independent program focusing on helping Pennsylvania consumers reduce their home energy use. The program integrates the general principles of whole house performance with green home design.