Food Services
Hager Lifelong Education Center, Rm. A137 · (570) 327-4767
Food Services in the News
- Woolrich Water Places in Top 10
- Food Service Vendors on Top of National Topics
- Penn College Food Services Milk Gets High Ratings (PDF)
- ‘Wrapture’ Dining Unit Places First in National Competition
- Area farmers train Penn College Dining Services How To Use Grass-fed Beef
- Cooking Up Success
- Chef Joe Attends Sushi Lessons
- College Grows Card
- Penn College Chooses Local Foods
Woolrich Water Places in Top 10
From the Williamsport Sun-Gazette
Woolrich Spring Water placed fifth in the non-carbonated bottled water category at the 2007 Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting in Berkeley, West Virginia.
The non-carbonated bottled water category is the largest one in the competition and 12 judges conducted a blind taste testing and gave each entry a numerical rating on the basis of appearance, odor, flavor, mouth-feel and after taste.
According to organizers, this is the largest water tasting competition in the world, with more than 100 entries from 23 states and countries.
Woolrich Spring Water is tapped directly from natural underground springs within the mountains above Woolrich, PA.
Penn College Bottled Water is bottled and tapped from the Woolrich facility.
Food-Service Vendors on Top of National Topics
Two food vendors used by Penn College Food Services are right on
top of some recent national food- and health-related headlines.
Dean Foods recently announced that a number of its processing plants no longer
will accept milk produced by cows injected with the synthetic growth hormone
recombinant bovine somatropin (rBST or rBGH). Dean foods is the distributor of
the Hershey's MilkShakes, strawberry and chocolate flavors, that are sold at
Penn Central and the Wildcat Express. This ban on rBST is a first for the
nation’s large dairies, but others are soon to follow suit.
JUMP Asian Express also is ahead of the curve with its Asian entrée products.
With the ban of trans-fat usage in restaurant cooking in New York City,
consumers will be glad to know that all JUMP sauces and proteins already have a
very low level of trans fats and meet or exceed codes adopted by New York City
and other communities looking into the trans-fat ban. JUMP products can be found
at CC Commons and the Susquehanna Room.
‘Wrapture’ Dining Unit Places First in National Competition
The Wrapture dining unit at Pennsylvania College of Technology earned a Gold award recently in the 2005 Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards contest, sponsored by the National Association of College & University Food Services.
Competing in the category of Retail Sales – Single Stand-Alone Concept/Outlet, Wrapture captured the first-place honor in the Small School division and is one of three finalists for the Grand Prize, to be announced at the 2005 National Conference, to be held July 11-15 in New Orleans.
To be considered for the contest, entries must include an essay describing the unit and its features, a formal copy of the dining unit’s menu; identification of featured specialty items and recipes; documentation of specials and promotions; a description of marketing efforts; and information on the unit’s sales, profits and customer satisfaction. A panel of judges then takes a closer look at four main areas, including menu selection, food merchandising and presentation, marketing, and statistics.
Wrapture, one of eight dining units that Penn College’s Food Services operates, features custom-made wraps, sandwiches and panini. Located in the Klump Academic Center, Wrapture is one of only two dining units on campus allowing students and other customers to order food through an online- and kiosk-ordering system known as “webfood.com.”
Founded in 1958, NACUFS is a trade association for food-service professionals at nearly 650 institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and abroad.
Area Farmers Train Penn College Dining Services How To Use Grass-fed Beef
From the Williamsport Sun-Gazette
Pennsylvania College of Technology recently awarded Northern Tier Sustainable Meats Cooperative Inc., a local cooperative of grass-fed beef farmers, the school's 2004-2005 ground beef contract. The cooperative will supply the college with about 20,000 pounds of bulk ground beef and hamburger patties.
Linda Sweely, director of food services at Penn College said, "Penn College has decided to use Northern Tier beef for the 2004-2005 school year because we feel that the product is a better quality and more nutritious option for our student body."
Three representatives of Northern Tier educated about 80 Penn College dining service employees about the fundamentals of grass-fed beef. The program, part of an in-service training offered by Penn College Food Service, included discussion of the benefits of grass-fed meats and a cooking demonstration.
Northern Tier has four members, all of whom farm in Bradford County. Northern Tier President Dale Harper told dining service employees that to raise meat for the cooperative, the animals' diet must be 85 percent grass-based, and farmers cannot use any chemical wormers, hormones or antibiotics. "we were already producing beef this way, so forming a cooperative was easy," Dale said.
The relationship between Northern Tier and Leona Meat Plant in Troy is significant. According to a USDA Food and Rural Economics Division report, by 1992 the four largest meat-packing firms in the U.S. accounted for 71 percent of industry output. the trend toward consolidation continues, forcing smaller, locally owned packing houses to go out of business. By establishing a relationship with a local processor, Northern Tier not only gives Leona Meats a substantial share of business, it ensures for itself a local packer with whom they can work to develop products.
Penn College has purchased beef from local farmers for several years. The culinary school at Penn College uses a variety of local produce, meats and dairy products in its restaurant, Le Jeune Chef, and for special events.
For more than four years, the student dining halls have featured milk from cooperative members Ann and Kim Seeley's Milky Way Farm.
Cooking Up Success
From the 2003 OVR Annual Report
Challenges are not new to Frank Teahan. Before age five, he had lost most of his hearing due to illness. By first grade, he was an expert lip reader and few knew he had a hearing loss. After high school, Mr. Teahan completed meat cutters school and worked as a professional butcher. Several years ago, he was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, which gradually constricted his visual fields.
Mr. Teahan contacted Rehabilitation Counselor Frank Phillips of the Altoona BBVS Office. Together, they developed a plan to include rehabilitation teaching, orientation and mobility instruction, and physical restoration services. Mer. Teahan became proficient in mobility and daily living skills, but still wanted to work. With BBVS help, he enrolled at the Helen Keller National Center in New York to train in food service and institutional cooking. He completed the course, and, although offered a job in New York City, he chose to return to Pennsylvania.
Both Mr. Teahan and Counselor Phillips describe the job-hunting process as frustrating. Prospective employers were uncomfortable hiring a person with both hearing and visual disabilities. But when Counselor Phillips contacted the Human Resource office at the Pennsylvania College of Technology (PCT) in Williamsport, things changed. Mer. Teahan met the qualifications for a food service position and was offered a job. With services from BBVS and professional instruction from the PCT's food service trainer, he completes all job duties. His supervisor states that he completes his work assignments safely and efficiently. Mr. Teahan's future plans include becoming a full-time chef.
Chef Joe Attends Sushi Lessons
From the October 2003 issue of Food Management Magazine
Joe Mignano Head Cook for the Susquehanna Room, attended a session on the art of sushi making at Penn State. The sessions were led by Chef Masaya Matsui.
College Grows Card
From the May 15, 2003, issue of FoodService Director
A pilot program allowing students at the Pennsylvania College of Technology (PCT), in Williamsport, to use flex or declining balance dollars at three vending machines on campus yielded sales increases ranging from 31% to 288%. This success has motivated Penn's foodservice team to roll out the program to an additional 31 machines this summer.
The test began in July 2002, when three machines located in an academic building were equipped with on-line meal card-reading capabilities. One of the test machines sells beverages and is owned and operated by Pepsi. Local contractor, Miele, Inc., owns and manages the other two – one that serves snacks such as chips, pretzels and candy bars, and another stocked with food such as yogurt, packaged sandwiches and heat-and-eat items.
According to food service director, Linda Sweely, the snack machine sales are up 31% and PCT's year-to-date sales commission on it since the July implementation exceeds $10,000. The food sales are up about 288%, with total revenue over $6,000. And the Pepsi machine is running 101% over, with revenue surpassing $7,000.
Contributing factor: the Advanced Technology and Health Sciences Center, the building that houses the machines, has been an ideal location for the pilot program. "The types of programs that are in the building are ones that tend to have long lab times, like our nursing program, dental program and our fiber optics lab," says Sweely, adding that the idea for the card-reading machines came out of student government.
Students often have three-to-four hour labs during which they may get a couple of 15-minute breaks – not enough time to go to a campus dining facility. "We solved a problem for the students and make it easier for them to get food," she says.
Other students will soon benefit from the program as the foodservice team rolls it out to vending machines in residence halls and other academic buildings on campus. Sweely notes that the machines will be particularly helpful to students in the college's aviation program. These students spend much of their time off-campus at the aviation facility at Williamsport Regional Airport where there are no dining units available.
"Our commission is going to skyrocket. It's a win-win-win. It's a win for the local contractors, Pepsi and the food companies. It's a win for us with increased commission, and it's a win for students."
Penn College Chooses Local Foods
From the Fall 2000 issue of the PASA Newsletter – By Ruth Tonachel & Kim Seeley
While most colleges purchase food for their students and staff from huge corporate food distribution services, Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, has taken a bold step away from "the system," and in support of sustainable family farmers. We welcome Penn College as PASA's newest Business Member. The latest contract in Penn College's unique food procurement system is with PASA dairy Farm Member, Milky Way Farms.
Milky Way is a family farm business owned and operated by three generations of the Seeley family. Since 1962, they have direct marketed milk in returnable bottles in the Bradford County region. They also make and sell ice cream and cheese from their own milk. The Seeleys are honored that Penn College, a Penn State affiliate, is now trusting them to provide all natural dairy products to be served at the College. This includes salkes at the college's renowned Le Jeune Chef restaurant. "We were overwhelmed by Penn College's enthusiasm about buying more sustainable foods to serve their brad range of needs," said PASA Board Member Kim Seeley, a partner with his wife and parents at Milky Way.
The initiative by Penn College to procure products straight from farmers began over 15 year ago and involves a broad range of farmers that are working with the food purchasers at the college. PASA members Anne & Eric Nordell were among the first farmers to deal with Penn College. They have been selling vegetables to the college food service since 1984. Originally, someone in the college culinary program heard they were selling fresh herbs in Williamsport area and contacted them. "Over the years, we've supplied a wide range of vegetables from mesclun to potatoes, from herbs and tomatoes to broccoli, leeks and parsnips, you name it," said Anne. "They just really appreciate good quality."
Frank Hartley, another PASA farmer/member in the Trout Run area, is now selling pastured poultry products to the College.
Seeley sees the alliance as a very positive trend, "This is exciting for us right now, and I believe it can be even more exciting for Pennsylvania dairy farmers in the long term. Dairy farmers are sick of hearing there is an over production problem. We are actually faced with an under-consumption problem. Dairy prices rise when more people drink fluid milk. Penn College is leading the way in putting high quality ahead of the lowest cost for dairy products," says Kim.
People rave about our chocolate milk. What's our secret? High quality ingredients. We don't cut corners on real sugar and cocoa and people can taste the difference. People want the best, most nutritious dairy products we can produce. Our customers demand it!," said Kim. Clearly Penn College is taking a stand on this.
Penn College is an innovative educational leader in our state and beyond. A successful education in the 21st century requires specialized learning intertwined with a real world grasp of the basic human essentials. Food is a staple of strong learning. The Penn College School of Hospitality, which offers bachelor and associate degrees in culinary arts, as well as associate degrees in baking and pasty arts, dietary management and hospitality management, is nationally recognized.
Penn College is truly a leader in education and food services when they worry about where they are buying food, and how sustainably it was produced. Students from he College have done cooking demonstrations at the Farmer's Markets where the Nordells sell produce and, with PASA, they have participated in a Farmer to Chef program at the state Farm Show. Chef Mike Ditchfield and students from the College attended the PASA conference last February and helped with the banquet and Saturday lunch. They were also on hand to help out with the food and to learn about Seeley's farming methods at the PASA Farm Field Day held in September at Milky Way Farms, thus forming an immediate bridge between the student consumers and the farm.
PASA's community initiative spurred Chef Ditchfield to start exploring additional new alternatives in food purchasing. Last spring, he set up a meeting with the Dean of the Culinary School and local farmers. This meeting led to the contract with Milky Way. PASA is proud of the college's recognition and commitment to supporting local food systems, family farms and cleaner healthier food for their students.
Milky Way Farms is a grass based family dairy farm in operation since 1928. A barn fire in 1976 put the farm on a brief, "modern farming detour" but they have now returned to their natural roots with the utilization of managed grazing with a mixed breed herd. They haven't used herbicides or pesticides in fifteen years and they have never used synthetic hormones (BST/rBGH).