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What is BardEATS?

Guiding Bard’s sustainable food initiatives.
BardEATS (Education Advocacy Transparency Sustainability) is a collaborative partnership among Bard students, dining services, faculty, and staff committed to increasing food purchasing transparency, reducing waste, decreasing the College’s carbon footprint, promoting food access, and supporting local farms and sustainable products.

     

Our Partners

Bard Office of Sustainability

Bard Office of Sustainability

BOS works to enhance the sustainability of the College in its operations, academics, and outreach.

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  • Bard Dining
    Bard Dining seeks out local and sustainable products and providers to improve our sustainable food options.
  • Bard Farm
    The 1.25-acre, student-run Bard Farm supplies organic produce to Chartwells, the campus dining service.
  • Dean of Student Affairs Office
    DOSA encourages undergraduates to actively participate in all aspects of our community, including campus-wide sustainability efforts.
The Bard College Farm
Middle schoolers visit the Bard Farm for Science Day.

The Bard College Farm

This student-operated organic farm on the Bard campus sells produce to the College’s dining service provider, works to educate students about food systems, and connects Bard to the regional agricultural community. Worked by students, the farm, with its visibility and its accessibility, demonstrates the realities of small-scale farming and creates a community of food and farm culture.

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Reducing Our “Carbon Foodprint”

Reducing Our “Carbon Foodprint”

Chartwells, the food service provider for Bard College, works in collaboration with BardEATS to help reduce food-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Currently, we are reducing GHG emissions by:

  • Reducing red meat consumption
  • Facilitating the shift to locally grown produce
  • Increasing plant-based options
  • Creating food waste reduction programs
  • Improving composting practices in the dining areas

Increasing “Real Food” on Campus
BardEATS Food Days at the Montgomery Place Campus.

Increasing “Real Food” on Campus

BardEATS has been so effective that Bard met its pledge to purchase 20 percent “Real Food” (local/community based, fair, ecologically sound, and humane as defined by the Real Food Challenge) five years ahead of schedule, and recently upped its pledge to 25 percent by 2020. How did Bard Dining reach this goal? By supporting local Hudson Valley farms and business, including Bread Alone, Hudson Valley Fresh, Winter Sun Farms, Feather Ridge, and Wild Hive, among many others. 

Bard: A Sustainability Case Study

Who We Are

BardEATS Council

If you’re interested in sustainability, farming, reducing waste, supporting local farms, food systems, or all of the above you’ve come to the right place. We care deeply about exploring these topics, and finding ways to engage with them.

BardEATS Activities