FLAVORS OF CRETE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST

MAKING LOCAL, HEALTHY, SUSTAINABLE DELICIOUS

Home Cooking, local sourcing, using freshly prepared ingredients, serving sustainable seafood, offering global cuisine and serving food that is good for you; these phrases sound familiar when describing the kind of food you would like to eat at home, but they can also describe the guiding principles of the food the kitchens of the University of Massachusetts prepare every day.

UMass Dining is the largest campus food service program in the United States and serves 50,000 meals each day, 8 million annually. Currently, over 24,000 students, faculty and staff are on meal plans. With over 30 dining locations across campus, including four large dining commons and eighteen retail cafés, two food truck, a bakeshop, catering and concessions, and the Commonwealth Restaurant, students can enjoy a variety of healthy and flavorful meals featuring local, regional and 15 world and specialty cuisines.

The brain food they need to excel in academics is all served in a sustainable and environmentally-conscious manner.

For over a decade, the Dining

Services program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Dining) has been an industry leader in environmentally conscious practices. Their serious commitment to sustainability has changed the way college students on the campus think about food and food consumption. They now understand that food is an essential source of personal health and wellness; that eating local, sustainable meals contributes to a strong and vibrant regional food system in New England and beyond.

UMass Dining Students Impact*:

88% of students believe UMass Dining contributes positively to their personal wellbeing

83% of students believe UMass Dining enhances their sense of belonging at the university

87% of students believe UMass Dining enhances their sense of values of the overall university experience

*UMass Dining Customer Satisfaction and Eating Habits Survey - Fall 2022

FLAVORS OF CRETE AT THE UNIVERSITY

Last December 2022 UMass

Dining and the Hellenic Center for Excellence in Health & Wellness sponsored an event, which featured a Dinner menu prepared by Guest Executive Chef Evangelos Fronimakis and a presentation on the Cretan Diet and Hellenic Center by Dr. Stefanos Kales, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Green leaf vegetables pie Spinach with fresh herbs and leek *** Cretan "Dakos" Homemade rye bread with fennel seed / extra virgin olive oil / grated tomato / Feta cheese and oregano *** Fava beans with octopus Cretan herbs / cherry tomatoes white wine vinegar *** Palikaria with sea bass filet seed of beans / lemon / dill *** Pie with olive oil and walnuts vanilla ice cream fresh fruit / mountain tea