Local Food Showcase at Bethel a Success!

Nothing brings students out of the wood work quite like free food, and Bethel’s Taste Minnesota event did just that!  On October 1-2, Bethel University held a local food showcase by bringing five local vendors on campus.  Bethel’s Sodexo representative organized the event in connection with the Central Corridor Anchor Partnership (CCAP).Event Advertisement

CCAP provided lists of eligible vendors, and Bethel embraced the event as an opportunity to advance the Partnership’s goal of increasing spending with local vendors by 5% over five years.  The Partnership has committed to this goal because its partners believe that such an effort can create wealth in communities adjacent to the Central Corridor by focusing and aggregating the demand from the anchor institutions to local suppliers that employ and invest in the community.  Together, the anchor partners spend $3 billion annually in goods and services.  Anchor partner spending on food is one of the “big bet” categories of spending that an expert study identified as “addressable,” meaning that spending can reasonably be shifted to local vendors.  See MCTC Shifts from National to Local Food Vendor, While ICIC Identifies Additional $328M Anchors Could Shift

Taste Minnesota, Bethel, PB Crave‘Institutionalizing’ Local Spending with Bethel Flex

While free samples provided an introduction to the local vendors, Bethel and Sodexo further primed the pump by allowing students to use their Bethel Flex dining cards for purchases.  Local vendors included PB Crave, CityKid Java, InHarvest, Caribou Coffee and True Stone Coffee Roasters.  Popular items with the students included artisan peanut butter from PB Crave, veggie “Aztec” burgers, Mediterranean blend whole grain salad, and cold brew coffee. 

Sodexo’s Bob Schuchardt used the event as an opportunity to learn more about student food preferences with an eye toward incorporating them into Bethel’s retail offerings.  His focus is to look for items that make sense for a student’s lifestyle and fit with Bethel Sodexo’s operations.  Schuchardt also plans to incorporate specialty items from these local vendors into Bethel’s Holiday Gift Baskets this year.Taste Minnesota, Bethel, True Stone

Future of Local Spending

The Local Food Showcase was deemed a success by Bethel.  With the success of this Fall’s showcase there are plans for a spring showcase and student engagement off campus in a field trip of sorts to local vendors.  Stay tuned!

Bethel Showcases Local Food

Bethel University’s food service provider Sodexo held a fair on campus this week to showcase five local food vendors.  The two day fair is part of Bethel’s effort to shift procurement spending to local businesses. 

The Central Corridor Anchor Partnership (CCAP) has committed to increasing anchor partner spending in Central Corridor zip codes by 5% over five years, and food spending is one of the “big bets” where a recent study identified up to $328 million of ‘addressable’ spending that could feasibly shift to local vendors. 

“We appreciate Sodexo’s efforts to start this process,” commented Bethel’s president, Jay Barnes.  “I believe that our students and faculty are very excited about more local options.”

One other CCAP partner, Minneapolis Community & Technical College, recently concluded its relationship with Sodexo and instead commenced dining and catering services this Fall with Groceries & Deli on Harmon, a local business established by a former MCTC and Metro State University student, Jag Arora. 

The Bethel local food fair included three local coffee vendors – True Stone Coffee Roasters, CityKid Java, and Caribou, along with local grocer D’Lish and suppliers InHarvest and Sweet Harvest Foods.  D’Lish is owned by Ann and Yulin Yin, and works with over 200 local and organic farmers to provide a “retail farmers market.”  InHarvest started as a wild rice provider from Bemidji and is now a supplier of whole grains, rice and legumes to K-12, colleges and universities, and military food service.  Sweet Harvest Foods is a family owned and operated company in the Cannon River Valley providing Melo-O honey and premium peanut butter. 

For Sodexo’s part, this local food vendor fair is a positive development.  “The participating businesses are very enthusiastic,” said Christopher Christenson, Communications & Marketing, Sodexo at Bethel University.  “I think it has been a mutually beneficial experience for Sodexo and the whole Bethel community.”   

Bethel is planning a Spring event to encourage students to visit local Central Corridor restaurants.  

Securing Regional Prosperity Through Local Spending

- Pamela Wheelock, Vice President, University Services University of MinnesotaAs Minnesota’s land grant university, the University of Minnesota seeks to be preeminent in solving the grand challenges of our diverse and changing world.  To be clear, taking on grand challenges is complex, hard work.  So it is with our procurement process – we must address many legal requirements and we strive to be great stewards of the University’s resources.  We also recognize that the power of the University’s spending can enhance equal employment and business opportunities for minorities, women, and disabled persons.  Consistent with the University’s outreach and public service mission, it is appropriate that the University takes advantage of opportunities presented in the procurement process to foster economic growth in the urban communities of which it is a part. 

The Central Corridor Anchor Partnership has set a goal to increase our collective spending on local businesses by 5% over five years.  This Anchor Update highlights a helpful analysis provided to the Partnership by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City that confirms that our goal is achievable.  Like all grand challenges, though, it will take thoughtful planning and serious effort, yet the payoff is worthwhile – economic growth in Central Corridor neighborhoods, and a stronger Twin Cities region.