Food for thought
Every Tuesday and Friday from June to October, Dara Olmsted ’00 sat wedged between fresh apples and lettuce, green beans and honey. Stationed just outside Harvard’s Science Center or across the Charles River in Allston, Olmsted was awash in her own seasonal, local, sustainable, artisanal version of heaven, working the weekly Harvard farmers markets. The Florida native said she has found her “dream job” as the newest Food Literacy Project administrator at Harvard University Hospitality & Dining Services (HUHDS). “It’s easy to become disconnected from the environmental and nutritional implications of your food,” said Olmsted, who touts sustainability and the importance of educating people about what they eat and the increasingly negative effects of industrial agriculture on the environment. Founded in 2005, the Food Literacy Project “cultivates an understanding of food from the ground up,” its website states. Focusing its education efforts around the four pillars of sustainability, nutrition, food preparation, and community, its...