Thank you to all of you
Last Friday, I was honored to receive a Massachusetts State Faces of Agriculture Award from Doug Petersen, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Resources and a Blue Ribbon Award from State Senator Stan Rosenberg, and State Representative, Ellen Story, at Berkshire Dining Commons during a luncheon event. The award recognized the outstanding support of local agriculture by UMass Dining.
I am honored to be part of the Faces of Massachusetts Agriculture along with others, such as August Schumacher, former Commissioner of Food and Agriculture and former Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agriculture (who I first met in California); who have contributed significantly to the Agriculture of Massachusetts and the rich diversity of the Massachusetts agricultural community. I have always thought that buying local is the right thing to do and receiving these awards makes me feel humble and very grateful.
I am indebted to our award-winning UMass management team, of hardworking individuals who execute our strategies well; to Kelly Irvin, manager of the From Farm to School Project (for her support and networking), to the UMass students (who have helped to make what UMass Dining is today), to others in the UMass community, Purchasing, News Office, College of Natural Resources and the Environment, the Vice Chancellor of Administration and Finances (for letting us use their resources), to the farmers in this area (especially Joe Czajkowski), who have gone out their way to grow vegetables for us, and last but not least to my boss, Ashoke Ganguli, who has supported me unconditionally in my quest to make UMass Dining one of the best programs in the country. In addition, my wife Pam, has supported me in many ways and understands why I am never home for dinner.
These awards belong to all of you above.
Ken Toong
Director
Contact Ken at ktoong@mail.aux.umass.edu