Campus lowers carbon footprint by choosing local vendor, Maplevale Farms, as food supplier
When it comes to keeping students happy and well-nourished, Faculty Student Association (FSA) Dining Services at SUNY Fredonia will be able to expand its “go green” initiatives while not having to stray far from its own doorstep anymore.
 Pictured from left are FSA Dining Services Director Michael Proffer, Maplevale Farms Sales Manager Dale Willink, Maplevale Farms President Gary Neckers, and SUNY Fredonia President Dennis Hefner. |
Campus-bound delivery trucks will now travel 18,000 fewer miles every year, thanks to the selection of Maplevale Farms, Inc., a family-owned food-service supplier based in nearby Clymer, as the primary supplier.
Maplevale Farms’ warehouses are a scant 40 miles from the campus, a distance that will sharply trim diesel-truck emissions, based on the 147 miles that each delivery truck traveled from FSA’s former supplier, Sysco, located just outside Pittsburgh, Pa., and the 168 deliveries made from that warehouse each year.
Designation of Maplevale Farms by FSA’s Food Service Committee was based on the quality of its products and high level of service that it will provide to the university, said Dr. Joseph Straight, committee chair, who introduced Maplevale executives Gary Neckers, president, and Dale Willink, sales manager, at FSA’s annual meeting Thursday.
A bonus that Maplevale Farms brings to the table, so to speak, is considerable use of local vendors and suppliers. FSA Dining Services is working closely with Maplevale Farms to identify and expand their list of local suppliers to provide food and products to the campus, a step that will reduce the university’s carbon foot print, explained FSA Dining Services Director Michael Proffer.
“For example, fresh eggs to be used are raised by a chicken farmer just down the road from Maplevale in Clymer,” Proffer said. Wraps, meatballs and pizza logs come from the Buffalo area, and other truly local vendors and products will be added to the list as the relationship evolves.
“Maplevale has excellent contacts with vendors who are local,” Proffer said, “and we expect to see more of that.”
Whenever possible, Maplevale Farms purchases products from manufacturers within its 150-mile service area that encompasses Western New York, Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio, explained sales manager Dale Willink. Among those are more than 20 Western New York companies.
In addition, Maplevale Farms belongs to UniPro Foodservice, Inc., a cooperative of 650 small- to mid-size independently owned food distributors whose combined annual sales reach $558 billion. That affiliation creates buying power for Maplevale Farms, now in its fourth generation of family ownership, to secure competitive prices and wide selection of products from some 300 manufacturers.
Like SUNY Fredonia, Maplevale has taken steps to protect the environment. Its truck fleet has been converted to comply with the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act, while the use of double-wide trailers will save 10,000 gallons of fuel each year. Energy savings have also been realized at its facilities through the use of energy-sipping fluorescent lighting and high efficiency coolers and freezers.
Maplevale Farms, which was founded in 1951 — the same year that FSA was formed — employs 150 people and recently embarked on a major expansion of warehouse facilities.
Students and staff can look forward to a campus food show hosted by Maplevale Farms on May 7. Those attending the FSA annual meeting were able to sample various finger foods and two flavors of smoothies, courtesy of Maplevale Farms. The company is also staging a major food show, featuring more than 150 booths, at the Bayfront Convention Center in Erie, Pa., on April 14.
