Virginia Tech
IN-2: Innovation 2

IN-2: "Virginia Tech Milk" Since 2008, the Dining Services Sustainability Coordinator has actively pursued inclusion of local and sustainable products to be served in dining units. The Farms and Fields Project in Owens Food Court is committed to serving exclusively local, sustainable, and organic meals. Dining Services has forged a partnership with the Virginia Tech Meat Science Center and is serving local meat that was raised and processed on campus by Virginia Tech faculty, staff and students. In January 2013, Virginia Tech (VT) began serving “VT Milk” in our all-you-care-to-eat facility, "D2" at Dietrick Hall. This includes whole milk, skim milk and chocolate milk. As a land grant institution, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ Dairy Science program operates a Dairy Barn as a means to fulfill the universities goals of education, research and extension. The VT Dairy Barn sells their raw milk to Virginia Agribusiness within the Virginia Department of Corrections (DOC). The Department of Virginia Agribusiness within the DOC then pasteurizes and processes the milk to be sold to other state funded institutions. Dining Services learned about this relationship in 2012 and inquired as to the possibility of serving this milk on campus. Since, Dining Services has contracted with the Department of Virginia Agribusiness for the Virginia Department of Corrections and is receiving bulk milk deliveries twice a week.