8:01 p.m. EST, November 25, 2013

The Johns Hopkins University has swapped traditional dining hall fare this year with new offerings: 25 varieties of apples from a farm in Pennsylvania, greens grown less than three miles away in Baltimore and gourmet beef from a cattle breeder in Monkton.
In six years, the college plans to increase its servings of local, sustainably grown food to 35 percent of all ingredients, becoming one of a handful of universities nationwide to make such a commitment about its cuisine.
The move comes at a time of growing interest in where food comes from and how it is grown. More than a dozen small urban farms are scattered throughout Baltimore, including one started by Hopkins students on its nearby Eastern campus on 33rd Street….


Hopkins is one of 19 colleges or universities in the U.S. to join the Real Food Challenge, a campaign to encourage institutions to buy at least 20 percent of their food from small nearby farmers and butchers by the year 2020. Only three other universities — the University of California, Santa Cruz; Warren Wilson College in North Carolina; and Oberlin College in Ohio — have committed to having a larger percentage of their purchases from such sources. 

The link for the Real Food Challenge: http://www.realfoodchallenge.org