Madison Brinker ‘15 picked ghost peppers at the Campus Farm last year. EMILY MC-
CARTER / THE DEPAUW
For the second year in a row, Bon Appetit at DePauw will take part in the Eat Local Challenge.
The eat local challenge is an initiative started by Bon Appetit cooperation where between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. today all food served in the Hub, besides salt, will be 100 percent local.
All food is shipped from a 150 mile radius of campus and is unique to the area and season.
“It’s been an initiative for 10 years,” said Chef Jordan Hall, “Every Bon Appetit will participate in the challenge.”
The challenge is national and serves as one of the trademarks of the company.
"The Eat Local Challenge is very important to me and extremely important to our company,” Hall said.
There will also be a small farmer's market on the patio of the Hub where members of the community are welcome to come and purchase local produce. Many students are really excited for tomorrow’s meal, especially after the success of last year.
“I loved it,” said Hub regular, sophomore Christina Goetz, about last year’s Eat Local Challenge. Goetz is passionate about fresh food and thinks that the challenge is a great way to not only make good food, but to also promote healthy eating.
“If they use the ingredients well it can be very tasteful and delicious,” she said, “Using seasonal food is what they do in healthier regions of the world where there is a much lower obesity rate.”
The Eat Local Challenge isn’t just for the people who will eat the food. The Bon Appetit staff also get something out of it.
“It’s a different way to cook,” said Chef Jason Durand, “It's really simple but it makes everything local, it’s a challenge.”
“It’s the day I look forward to every single year,” said Hall.
The challenge brings the staff together and makes the work more worthwhile.
“It’s something that motivates our team,” Hall said, “It makes them more happy.”
Bon Appetit at DePauw plans to take part in the challenge again next year because it is seen as so important to the organization the staff members and the DePauw community.
-Maria Manuela contributed to this article.