In an effort to increase the availability of local foods, campus dining service Bon Appétit and the Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) are introducing a Cheese Cooperative. Although specific details have yet to be drawn out, the Co-Op will obtain cheese from local farms. Students would receive a different variety of cheeses each week, in exchange for a set number of meal points per semester.
The Cheese Co-op will be designed to complement the already existing Fruit and Veggie Co-Op, which offers students organic fruits and vegetables weekly for 165 points per semester. Similar to the Fruit and Veggie Co-Op, the Cheese Cooperative will also allow students to split shares. Other cooperatives, such as the Raw Milk Co-Op, also already exist on campus.
Bon Appétit Resident District Manager Michael Strumpf and Bon Appétit Controller Bernice Laille proposed the idea to the Dining Committee as a means of moving toward the company’s goal of having 20 percent of all food come from local sources.
Zachary Malter ’13, Chair of the WSA Finance and Facilities Committee (FIFAC) and the WSA Dining Committee, offered to publicize the idea and get the project up and running. Malter published a post about plans for the co-op on the WSA blog on Oct. 21.
“This is something that is important to students,” Malter said. “I’ve never had an announcement that’s generated this much student interest, and I’ve been involved with a fair number of campaigns with the WSA. I think this is something that students care about.”
In less than a week, Malter has received 20 e-mail responses indicating interest in the cooperative. His intention with the blog post was not, however, to gather a list of students interested solely in participating.
“The goal was to find a leader but we ended up getting a lot of e-mails from people who just wanted to join the co-op,” Malter said. “So now we are trying to identify a few main point-people. There needs to be leadership to get any program of this magnitude started.”
The position will be a volunteer opportunity rather than a paid one. Malter will evaluate the candidates who have indicated interest in leading the cooperative based upon time, energy, and knowledge.
“The people that express the strongest interest in doing that will end up filling those positions,” Malter said. “The great thing about a co-op is that it has a communal nature to it, so everyone can play a part in shaping the nature and atmosphere of it. It’s not something you just become a part of and inhabit. It’s somewhat of a community.”
Although final plans are still uncertain, the cheese will primarily come from Cato Corner Farm in Colchester, Conn., located just over a half hour away. The small family farm raises forty Jersey cows free-range and without subjecting them to hormones or sub-therapeutic antibiotics. Cheeses produced by the farm include Hooligan (an award-winning “stinky” cheese), Vivace (similar to a combination of Gruyere and Italian Provolone), Dutch Farmstead (a variation of Gouda), and others.
“They have their own kind of style distinctive to their farm,” Malter said. “Most people haven’t heard of a lot of their cheeses. They’re more exotic, more sophisticated. I think a lot of the experience is getting exposed to new cheeses.”
Malter also expressed excitement about exposure to unknown varieties of cheese.
“I think a lot of this is about adventure and daring and boldness,” Malter said. “Some of the cheeses are not typical, so students are going to have to expect getting out of their comfort zone a little, but there are so many students on this campus that like to experiment in all sorts of ways.”
WSA President Micah Feiring ’11 is exited initiative.
“We’re going to pave College Row with cheese,” Feiring said.