LCC Going Local

GoLocalGiven that what we eat has a large impact on the environment, the LCC Sustainability Committee is reviewing LCC’s food sources.

Thanks to the efforts of five graduating students from the Class of 2008, as well as our excellent chef Alain Thirion, we already have much of the data we need for this project. Make no mistake, in this day and age, it is challenging for a North American to figure out where their food comes from. We take it for granted that we can get fresh fruit in the middle of a Canadian winter. This luxury comes at a steep cost to the environment.

LCC is in the process of setting long-term sustainability goals, and we are attempting to create a balance between optimism for what can be achieved and realism for what may be expected. Ideally, we would like the vast majority of the food served at LCC to come from within 250 km of the school. This is not as difficult as it might seem. For example, Première Moison (bread) already gets all of its flour from Quebec. Much of the beef and chicken is from within the province as well.
Vegetables and fruits are another matter. They are one of the reasons we will likely not reach our 100% local food goal, at least until there are enough greenhouses supplying mid-winter fruit. Thus it is here that we face our key challenge.

To get a quick view of some locavore ideas, check out this link. –Chris Olive, Green team Faculty Liaison