Sonya Elder's Response

Sonya Elder responded really quickly and I was really happy with the information she gave me. First, she let me know that she would be available to meet very often at BHS around lunch time. She gave me a quick overview of what sustainable dining practices were being implemented in the cafeteria. A big part of this was a transition from styrofoam plates to more ecofriendly plates. And this was very recent as of the week I received this email. I had seen styrofoam plates in the cafeteria not two days prior to this. But shortly after they disappeared. Instead, they offer customers a reusable plates in the hot line and at the salad bar.  Disposable plates are still available, but they've been switched from styrofoam to a biodegradable material.  She said that they would soon be switching to a paper soup bowl instead of a styrofoam one. She also emphasized locally purchased foods and beverages. The school purchases produce every week directly from Lanni Orchards, which she described as a family farm in Lunenburg, MA.  This time of year they get apples, carrots, squash. In addition the school buys some apple cider from "Joe Czajkowski's Farm" in Hadley, MA. The B.Good Burgers that are served at the cafeteria every Tuesday are made from all-natural locally-sourced beef. The beef comes from Pineland Farms Natural Meats, a collaborative of 250 family farms in New England. Also, B.Good's tomatoes are grown on their very own rooftop garden. Fair-trade organic coffee is now served in the hot beverage section of the cafeteria. Apparently, the hotline usually features a meatless option every Monday -- "Meatless Mondays."  In addition, the salad bar has expanded to offer a greater variety of "fresh vegetables and offerings, such as tofu and garbanzo bean salad."  Fresh fruit cups and yogurt parfaits (so good!) are always available in the "grab-and-go" section of the cafeteria. And vegetarian options are always available at the deli where they assemble your choice of sandwich. There is always vegetarian sushi as well. Vegetarian/Vegan options take much less energy to produce than animal products (this includes dairy products) because animals take much more energy to grow than plants.