What’s new on the menu at URI dining halls? Fresh, locally caught fish.

URI Dining Services now features sustainable, locally sourced fish through the Catch of the Month Program. The initiative began in September 2017 when the department hired graduate assistant Jacob Albernaz to help design and promote the effort. “Instead of relying on frozen fish from large distributors, we decided to look for fresher, cheaper fish that is better for the environment,” says Albernaz ’17, who is currently a URI M.B.A. student. “Since we are the Ocean State, we focus on sourcing local fish that are underutilized.”

Albernaz explains that fishing for underutilized fish helps the local marine ecosystem by alleviating pressure on overfished species. Dining Services has included bluefish, scup, John Dory, monkfish, and skate in recent Catch of the Month offerings.

The fish is often served with produce from local farms or the URI Agronomy Farm. The local seafood is offered at Mainfare in Hope Commons and Butterfield Dining Halls.

“The program is beneficial for local fishermen since we can schedule with them and pay a slight premium to target the fish we need,” says Mark Pirri, a consultant at Tony’s Seafood, one of the distributors Dining Services works with. “Any time you pull product locally instead of using imported species, you are helping the local economy. Long term, we are helping to introduce local species to students who otherwise would not be consuming them, which potentially creates a customer for these locally fished items. For example, John Dory, a little-known species, is a bycatch of Rhode Island’s huge squid fishery. The more exposure this fish gets, the more it can become a part of people’s consumption habits. If we create demand, it increases the value and the boats will potentially be paid more for this bycatch.”

Albernaz earned his undergraduate degree in supply chain management from URI’s College of Business. After working for five years as a caterer with URI Dining Services, he welcomed the opportunity to deepen his connection with the Ocean State since, as a Tiverton, Rhode Island native, he grew up near the water.

“Supply chain is often thought of globally, but can be local when you think about the food industry,” says Albernaz. “It is important to focus on not shipping food across the world and instead focus on agriculture and seafood sourced locally to keep miles down and food fresher.

“Local and sustainable sourcing is economically, socially, and environmentally beneficial,” says Albernaz. “Economically, this project is good for Rhode Island because it keeps dollars in the state. Socially, it helps provide work for local fishermen year-round, furthering their sense of purpose. Environmentally, the fish are caught sustainably and travel a shorter distance before arriving at their destination.”

“We feel that dining should not only be a feast for the senses, but also a feast for the mind,” says Pierre St-Germain, URI’s director of dining and retail services. “Exposing our student body to delicious recipes utilizing underappreciated fish, informing them about local fisheries and the processes of bringing these fresh-catch meals to campus is just part of how we can help create a more holistic dining experience.”

This is not Dining Services’ first sustainability initiative. In 2017, it established a relationship with a local vendor for compost waste, which has allowed the University to divert a large amount of food waste from landfills. The vendor turns the waste into beneficial compost
for local farmers and gardeners.

In addition, Dining Services serves fresh, local produce in the dining halls through a partnership with Roch’s Fresh Foods.

—Olivia Ross

Olivia Ross ’19 is public relations major and an intern in URI’s Marketing and Communications Department.