The Department of Dining Services is honored to accept the Gold Medal for the Best Local Foods recipe contest from the National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS). Dining Services also won a handful of gold and silver awards from NACUFS for local recipes over the last 12 years.

Our recipe submission, Delicata Farrotto with Balsamic Gastrique & Goat Cheese, was served at McMahon Dining Hall.

The local ingredients for this dish came from the following locations:

• • • • Delicata Squash – The Farm, Woodbury, CT
      • Kale –Baggott Family Farm, East Windsor, CT
      • Honey – UConn Apiaries”– Mansfield-Storrs, CT
      • Onions, garlic, and basil – UConn Spring Valley Student Farm
      • Goat Cheese, Vermont Creamery, Websterville, VT

When it comes to procuring local ingredients, we have established a strong partnership with both our produce distributor (Sardilli-Hartford, CT) and the local farmers. Sardilli Produce Company started as a fruit stand in 1955 and has evolved into a family run business that supports the local food movement. This relationship has enabled us to give our produce needs to the farmers before the growing season and lock in pricing.  Our produce distributor knows our priority is Connecticut-grown produce first and then produce from neighboring states second. https://www.sardilliproduce.com

We are proud members of The Working Lands Alliance, a coalition that, through cooperation, champions policy and education initiatives to protect farmland and advance agriculture. We are also involved with the CT Farmland Trust, a relationship between farmers, conservationists, and policymakers that works to protect CT farmland and provide healthy local food to all citizens.

We are proud of what we have accomplished thus far, but we will continue to grow as a community, supporting local agriculture and educating our students.

The recipe for this dish can be found at dining.uconn.edu/recipes.

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