Colle Farmers Market, Advocate for Organic Food, Commends Johns Hopkins University for Switch to Local, Organic Food

Organic food advocate Colle Farmers Market responds to an article published by Baltimore Sun on November 26th, which states that Johns Hopkins University has exchanged traditional dining hall food for organic food options.

According to the Baltimore Sun article entitled "Hopkins University commits to local, organic food," Johns Hopkins University is now offering students organic options, like 25 varieties of apples and locAl Greens. In addition to this news, the University announced that by 2020, 35 percent of their cooking ingredients would be local, sustainably grown, organic foods.

Johns Hopkins is not the only school making changes to its dining halls. Hopkins is one of 19 colleges in America to join the Real Food Challenge, which challenges schools to obtain 20 percent of their food from local growers by the year 2020. The article says Hopkins initially agreed to the 20 percent benchmark, but, at a recent dinner celebrating the achievement, school president Ronald J. Daniels upped the target to 35 percent.

Though JHU has had a great start in reaching its goals, hitting 35 percent target will not be easy. The article says, "Supporters said there will be several challenges for JHU to get to the 35 percent mark in six years. The Mid-Atlantic growing season means it will be difficult to find locally sourced produce in the winter."

A representative from Colle Farmers Market, an organic food advocate, says Johns Hopkins University should be recognized by the organic food community for the strides it has taken toward supporting local organic food. "There is a growing nationwide interest on how healthy our food is and where it comes from," he says. "College students are very supportive of sustainable agriculture, so it does not surprise us that there is an organic support group at the University. However, it's extremely significant that a student-led campaign for more organic products inspired university executives to make a change."

The representative from Colle Farmers Market hopes that more schools join the Real Food Challenge and push for sustainable agriculture. "The Real Food Challenge is a great program that will hopefully encourage other colleges to join Johns Hopkins in the organic movement. Schools compete in academics and athletics, why not organic food percentages!"

Colle Farmers Market is an E-Commerce enabled community that is passionate about sustainable consumption and responsible conservation. The Colle movement is dedicated to connecting natural product vendors, organic farmers and all people who are living an organic and natural lifestyle.

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