Bates College Ups "Green-ness"

The completion of the new environmentally friendly dining commons and a $2.5 million anonymous grant for the purchase of food from local sources have helped make dining at Bates College in Lewiston, ME, a lot “greener,” reports the Bates Student campus paper. Food is also central to the school’s theme for this academic year: "Nourishing Body and Mind: Bates Contemplates Food."

"With food as the thread that connects us, to each other and to our larger community, we will spend the next year celebrating and contemplating more deeply the ways that gathering together around food enhances and supports the College's mission," President Hansen said in May in announcing the theme.

The new Dining Commons building is made of recycled and "green" building materials and designed to use minimal electricity and water. The grant is expected to boost the amount the school spends on local food to about 28 percent of its food budget, up from 22 percent last year. The products include grass-fed beef raised nearby by two graduates, spring water from a locally owned company, bread made from grain grown organically in Maine and fresh fruits and vegetables grown a few miles from the college.