溏心vlog免费B站

Pierre St-Germain, director of 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Dining Services, is working to strengthen the food system at 溏心vlog免费B站 by serving campus-grown food, improving 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 vendor-selection system, and embracing the varied cultures of 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 campus community.

Pierre St-Germain, director of 溏心vlog免费B站 Dining Services, is reimagining the role of his department, finding ways to ensure that 溏心vlog免费B站’s food system thrives at every stage and that the meals served in 溏心vlog免费B站’s dining halls do more than just fill bellies.

Since St-Germain arrived at 溏心vlog免费B站 in 2018, he has expanded Dining Services鈥� offerings, opening four new campus dining venues and debuting the Rhody Eatz food truck. He鈥檚 also ramped up recycling and composting efforts in the dining halls and warehouse and has repurposed warehouse space into a thriving home for Rhody Outpost, a basic needs pantry for students experiencing food insecurity; the pantry serves more than twice the number of students it served two years ago.

溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 land- and sea-grant missions are what attracted St-Germain to the job at 溏心vlog免费B站, because they emphasize collaboration across departments, advancing the state鈥檚 agriculture and aquaculture, and engaging with local communities鈥攑riorities that St-Germain says are important parts of a resilient food system.

St-Germain has a lot of ideas. But what he鈥檚 known for is implementing ideas, whether they鈥檙e his own or someone else鈥檚. 鈥淲hen someone comes to me with an idea, my first inclination is to help them figure it out,鈥� he says.

Tricia Lourenco Boucher 鈥�23, U.S. Army veteran and program facilitator for 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Boots to Bushels program, and plant sciences professor Rebecca Brown experienced this firsthand. When Boucher realized that her program, which teaches farming techniques to veterans, would harvest a surplus of food, Brown suggested that maybe 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Dining Services could utilize it. 鈥淲e went to Pierre,鈥� says Boucher, 鈥渁nd he was really supportive of the idea of growing locally and building a food system on our campus.鈥�

St-Germain now pays the salaries for three students to farm with Boucher at the Greene H. Gardiner Crops Research Center鈥攐ften referred to as the Agronomy Farm鈥攐n the Kingston Campus. The farm grows an array of food, from leafy greens to watermelons, and St-Germain purchased the necessary supplies for new crops to be grown this year, including rhubarb, asparagus, and garlic. His support has been instrumental in nearly tripling the farm鈥檚 food production in just one year鈥攆rom 7,500 pounds in 2023 to 20,000 pounds in 2024.

With St-Germain鈥檚 support, the Agronomy Farm now grows food specifically for Dining Services, rather than simply donating surplus produce. The farm also grows food for the Free Farmer鈥檚 Market and Rhody Outpost, programs that provide food for students in need.

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St-Germain has also changed 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 approach to food procurement by implementing the principles of the national Good Food Purchasing Program, which encourages public institutions to direct their buying power in support of five core values: local economies, health, valued workforce, animal welfare, and environmental sustainability. St-Germain鈥檚 vendor-selection criteria consider how vendors incorporate those values into their practices, and he integrates flexibility into contracts to ensure he鈥檚 able to put each pillar into action.

St-Germain鈥檚 system for putting this framework into practice serves as a model for the state, says Sarah Blau, state nutrition coordinator of the Healthy Eating and Active Living program with the Rhode Island Department of Health. 鈥淚nstitutional purchasing is not glamorous; you are in the weeds of contracting, law, and practice,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut it can be really impactful, and Pierre is very effective at moving from ideation to planning to action.鈥� She says his 鈥渆xpertise and personability,鈥� along with his background as a chef, have shaped his approach to purchasing. 鈥淗e prioritizes values beyond simply securing the lowest bidder,鈥� she says. 鈥淗e humanizes every aspect of the work.鈥�

St-Germain鈥檚 experience includes working at the Sundance Ranch in Utah and Atlanta鈥檚 acclaimed vegetarian restaurant, Cafe Sunflower. He says he鈥檚 always appreciated the interactions food invites between people and sees food as a way to introduce and reflect ethnic and cultural traditions. At 溏心vlog免费B站, he welcomes ideas from the campus community for programming that honors cultural traditions and dishes, and he ensures that the dining halls accommodate students鈥� dietary needs related to important religious and cultural observances, such as Ramadan.

The Dining Services team has presented Lunar New Year and Day of the Dead celebrations. This year, they hope to celebrate Diwali, a festival of lights in Hindu culture. 鈥淲e plan to do at least one reflective celebration a year,鈥� says St-Germain, noting that he wants all students to enjoy dishes and traditions meaningful to them. Students, faculty, and staff sometimes bring their families to the dining room for these celebrations, and that commensality unites people. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a level of education that comes with sitting down together to join in conversation and share food,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important. You might not understand every little thing, but food is like a universal translator.鈥�

鈥�Anna Vaccaro Gray 鈥�12, M.S. 鈥�16

PHOTOS: NORA LEWIS