HUDS To Honor Earth Day With Green Dinner

Tonight’s dinner hasn’t traveled very far to get to your tray—most of it is locally and sustainably grown as part of Harvard University Dining Services’ Earth Day Dinner.

The meal will take place during normal dining hours and feature items from local farms that were produced using sustainable techniques, including borscht soup made from local beets, Maine lobster bisque, locally baked sourdough rolls, and locally made ice cream and four-berry pies, among other items.

“The Earth Day dinner is a HUDS festive meal, happening in every dining hall,” said HUDS spokeswoman Crista Martin. “It is made up almost entirely of local, organic or sustainably raised ingredients.”

Unlike last week’s Haiti dinner, which focused on fundraising, Martin said, the Earth Day dinner is aimed primarily at raising awareness of Earth Day.

The meal is part of a campus-wide “Earth Week,” a celebration of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, which started on April 22, 1970. Harvard’s Earth Week, which will actually span 10 days, started on April 14 and will include the first annual Harvard Green Carpet Awards on April 23, which will honor staff, students, and faculty who have made significant contributions to reducing the University’s greenhouse gas emissions. The celebration will culminate with tours of the new Harvard Garden near Lowell House on April 24. The garden opened on April 17, and is a joint effort of the Food Literacy Project and the Office for Sustainability, along with other organizations.

Members of the Harvard Environmental Action Committee, a student  group focused on promoting sustainability and environmental protection, said they applauded the HUDS effort.

“HUDS has shown a strong commitment over the years to sustainability,” said Jackson S. Salovaara ’11, an EAC officer. “We the students are impressed and appreciative of their ongoing effort through one-day events like this dinner and ongoing programs like the Food Literacy Project.”

—Staff writer Derrick Asiedu can be reached at dasiedu@fas.harvard.edu.