An update on Longwood Medical and Academic Area programs and activities that encourage a sustainable environment.

Highlights of LMA green dining advances include:

Environmentally and socially sustainable food is now available at several dining places in the LMA. 

• Locally grown, seasonal produce is tasty, healthy and better for the environment. Since less transportation is required, it avoids the carbon emissions associated with the vehicles, trains and planes that move non-local food from farms to kitchens. Several LMA institutions work with Red Tomato and Sid Wainer and Son, food distributors who work closely with local farms to acquire locally up to 25% of their seasonal produce. Harvard Medical School offers an on-site farmers’ market to make locally-grown produce easily available to employees. Their food service vendor, Restaurant Associates, won a 2008 Food Management Award for Best Menu for the local dining alternatives they provide at the school. Restaurant Associates also works with a local CSA farmer who sells shares of his crop to the HMS community. The 25 people who participate pick up their produce at the Courtyard Café. From May to October, an innovative window-box garden located at the school provides herbs, lettuce, tomatoes, and other vegetables for the dining facility. The project is part of The Growing Connection, a program of the United Nations. Visit www.green.harvard.edu for more information.
• Meat and dairy products without growth hormones and with limited antibiotics, grass-fed meat, cage-free eggs, sustainable seafood, and fair-trade coffee are available in a number of LMA dining areas. Emmanuel College, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, Merck, Wentworth Institute of Technology and the Winsor School all work with food service vendors that are part of Compass Group North America, an industry leader for sustainable food programs.

Dining-related waste is being reduced through:

• Expanded recycling programs, including oil and grease recycling
• Composting of food waste
• Selection of cups and plates that are made with recycled content and/or can be recycled after use
• Use of reusable take-out containers
• Elimination or reduction of individually packaged items
• Preference for vendors who use returnable packaging
• Collaboration with area caterers to use sustainable products

Education programs on food, health and sustainability are changing behavior:

• Opportunities for diners to weigh food waste to encourage everyone to take only what they will eat
• Programs to increase understanding of healthy and sustainable eating
• Identification of locally-grown and sustainable options

Institutions are pursuing energy and water conservation in their dining areas:

• Installation of water and energy efficient appliances and fixtures
• Tray-less dining to reduce water and energy use and encourage waste reduction

For more information on green dining efforts in the LMA contact Ulla Hester, uhester@masco.harvard.edu or 617-632-2818.

• Water Drops Add Up
• Healthier Eating for People and the Planet
• Saving Money in Waste Management
• Winter Biking Workshops
• Departmental Bike Share Program
• LEED Gold to Simmons College
• MASCO Area Planners Earn LEED Accreditation
  
  
• Back to Green@LMA Table of Contents