Swine Flu

The University is closely monitoring the current concerns regarding swine flu and is updating the community through the Harvard homepage. University Health Services is emphasizing good hygiene as the best preventative measures generally for the flu. We continue to maintain our stringent safety protocols around food handling and sanitation in public spaces. For the latest information regarding swine flu, visit the UHS website at:
http://www.uhs.harvard.edu/NewsAndEvents/Announcements/Announcement.aspx?id=200141

Quick Updates

It’s going to be a busy week on campus for HUDS, so I wanted to share some quick updates and reminders with you:

• Our Advisory Council begins its work today, and will be n campus until Friday. This group of foodservice professionals (chefs, foodservice directors from other colleges, service providers) and parents examines HUDS’ work and provides a report to the Vice President for Administration regarding our program. Members of the Council will visit every residential dining hall and most retail locations. They will be at Annenberg and Quincy on Thursday, from noon-1:30pm, specifically soliciting student feedback. If you see them, do not hesitate to share your thoughts.

• Thursday night (April 16), the Food Literacy Project (FLP) is hosting several activities:
• Both Leverett and Kirkland will host “Iron Chef” competitions. Likewise in the coming weeks you’ll see such competitions at other dining halls, leading up to a late spring “Iron Chef Harvard.” Contact your local FLP Rep to enter.
• At 7pm in Boylston Hall’s Ticknor Lounge, the FLP is hosting local food writer Linda Bassett as she talks about “Apple Pie to Pad Thai: The influence of immigrant cuisine on local food.” She’s especially talking about pie – a favorite subject here on campus – so be sure to come by. This event is free and open to the public.

• On Sunday night, we’ll help you celebrate Yardfest with an outdoor picnic. The weather is supposed to be great, so please join us in Tercentenary Theater. Only Currier and Mather will be open for dinner.

• Next week, on Wednesday, April 22, we’ll honor the 29th anniversary of Earth Day with a sustainable dinner in the dining halls. We particularly emphasize foods that come from New England and are lower on the food chain, as both help reduce our overall greenhouse gas emissions.

Finally, we have begun to look toward the fall and our partnerships with local farmers. Last year’s inaugural experience with Ward’s Berry Farm (in Sharon, MA) was a great success, but one thing we heard loud and clear – less squash! So we want to continue that partnership, and forge some new ones as well, to bring in more produce grown just for you, from farmers you can get to know. We hope to expand the program to include brussel sprouts, potatoes, dark leafy greens, and hard greens such as cabbage, all of which can grow in New England’s cooler fall months. We’ll still have squash on the menu, but not as often.

Keep sharing your feedback, and we hope to see you at some of the upcoming events.

New Harvard ID Cards

Since the implementation of the new, 2-stripe Harvard ID card in the fall, HUDS has ensured that students could dine even when they forget their ID by having a back-up swipe card on hand. Very few individuals needed this system and now, effective Friday, we will discontinue it altogether.

In addition, beginning today (April 1, 2009), old-style Harvard ID cards (those with a single magnetic stripe) will no longer be accepted for transactions such as HUDS dining hall meals, Crimson Cash, or the M2 shuttle. Since the majority of our community already has these cards, this should have little impact on you.

For those folks who have not yet picked up their new two-stripe ID card, they should do so as soon as possible, at the ID Card Office in the 9th floor of Holyoke Center.