Marist the cow highlights farm-to-table dairy

During Sustainability Week in October 2017, Marist Dining Services participated in the celebrations by hosting a visit from a baby calf, named ‘Marist’. The calf was in attendance as a mascot for local, family-run Hudson Valley Fresh Farms which provides farm-to-table milk in the Murray Student Center dining hall.

At the time, the calf’s visit garnered much attention and joy from Marist students, faculty and staff who stopped by to see the tiny calf near the campus gardens. The purpose of the visit was to educate the campus community about the close proximity of the dairy farm to the college and the benefits of sourcing local.

Now, two years later, Marist Dining Field Marketing Specialist Kate Cole paid a special visit to Marist, now a charming grown cow at the Dutchess County Fair in Rhinebeck, NY. Marist the Cow enjoyed the company of many families and passersby who stopped to admire her magnificence.

"A lot of young people don't understand where our food comes from, so this is an opportunity to teach students about farming and food origins," said Steve Sansola, associate dean for Student Affairs, and co-chair of Campus Sustainability Advisory Committee.

Buying local and regional foods within 200 miles of the Marist campus is a top priority. Of the total food purchased for the Marist Dining Services program, over 50% is locally and regionally sourced. Marist Dining sources pasture-raised beef, pork, poultry, fruits, dairy and vegetables from a variety of local farms. This reduces energy consumption, shipping waste and greenhouse emissions, while increasing local employment and the vitality of our Hudson Valley farms and community.

Marist Dining Services stocks only Hudson Valley Fresh (HVF) milk in the dining hall. Hudson Valley Fresh is a not-for-profit dairy cooperative dedicated to preserving the agricultural heritage of the Hudson River Valley by promoting it as one of the premier farming regions of the United States.

HVF’s mission is to secure a living wage for the farmers and their families who are part of the HVF cooperative. By ensuring a fair price for their dairy products, more local farmers are kept in the business of farming, which means preventing the loss of their land to development. Hudson Valley Fresh cooperative farms are currently preserving 8,000 acres of open land within the Hudson Valley. Hudson Valley Fresh milk is sourced solely from farms located in Dutchess, Columbia and Ulster Counties of New York State.