Thanks to the work of University of the South Executive Chef Rick Wright, along with his colleagues, local foods are gracing our dining hall. This year, the University will use about 20% of the food-purchasing budget in the local farm economy, a flow of $300,000. A few years ago, that number was zero. Next year, we’re on track for 30%.

This Sunday, fried chicken, along with squash from the University farm, was on the menu, a celebration of the fall harvest. Thank you Chef Rick Wright, Farm Manager Carolyn Hoagland, and the many staff, students, and administrators whose work is reorienting campus dining away from the outlet pipe of the industrial food system and toward Tennessee’s fields.