Slippery Rock University Dining Services is a proud participant in the Buy Fresh Buy Local Campaign of Western
Pennsylvania. They are working in conjunction with The Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture
(PASA) and Monteverdes Food Service to offer local produce to our customers whenever possible. Items have
included peppers, onions, mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli and cucumbers.
They are also working directly with local farms when the opportunity arises. Creighton Farms has
provided us with tomatoes, green peppers and onions; the Macoskey Center has provided heirloom tomatoes and
fresh herbs. Their main local purchases are mushrooms and apples. They purchase nearly 200 pounds of mushrooms
and 1,600 apples per week. When available, nearly 100 pounds of peppers, 50 pounds of squash and 50 pounds of
zucchini are purchased weekly as well.
Dining Services has also broadened the scope of this project beyond simply produce. Their milk is produced locally,
bottled water is purchased from Emlenton Water and bagels are baked fresh daily at Giant Eagle.
AVI Foodsystems believes it is our responsibility to raise consumer awareness to locally grown foods and
increase the economic viability of our region. They continue to reach out to the community and look for ways
to partner with local businesses to enhance their economic impact in the area.
In 2006, the Macoskey Center received a "Conservation Award for Outstanding Organization" presented
by the Bartramian Audubon Society. The Center was recognized as making "significant contributions"
to conservation efforts in Western Pennsylvania.
The Macoskey Center established a windrow composting system through a grant from the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection, which formed a partnership between Slippery Rock Borough and the University.
The grant allowed for the purchase of a trailer-mounted leaf vacuum (and other equipment) that is used to
collect leaves from Borough residents every fall (typically approximately 80 percent participation rate).
These leaves (328 cubic yards or 38 tons per year) are placed in long narrow windrows on a three acre site
at the Macoskey Center. Throughout the school year, buckets containing pre-consumer food scraps
(5,100 gallons or 16 tons per year) from the two university dining halls are delivered to the site three times
per week. A student employee manually adds this material each time it is delivered and monitors the process of
decomposition within the windrows. A large, tractor-operated Sandberger compost turner is periodically used
to turn the windrows. The finished compost is of exceptional quality and is used for various Center-sponsored
landscaping and agricultural purposes, including the organic farm at the Macoskey Center.
The University annually recycles more than 273,000 tons of material that would otherwise find their way to
landfills.
The University’s long tradition of self reliance and environmental sensitivity continues today through the
efforts of many individuals and the institutional codification of the principles of sustainability.
