Follow the footsteps of Columbia ’s private-label strawberry jam and tomato salsa to John Jay Dining Hall tables. You’ll find them green every step of the way.

The tomatoes and strawberries are local, having been grown on Connecticut farms. The processing and jarring were also done in a Connecticut plant. And the label design and printing were produced by Columbia Print Services on the Morningside campus.

The plan for the private-label, sustainably based jam and salsa started last year, says Vicki Dunn, Director, Dining Operations. It has translated to 80,000 pounds of jam and 100 cases of salsa that are being served in the dining hall over the course of this academic year.

The strawberries are the product of Hindinger Farm, a commercial grower, in Hamden, just north of New Haven . Ten of the farm’s 120 acres are given over to strawberry plants, says Elizabeth Hindinger, who with her brother are the fourth generation to operate the farm. Hindinger says the farm experiments with “wonderful different varieties of berries that are tastier and more consumer-friendly. People really love the flavors.”

Old Maids Farm, on the Connecticut River in South Glastonbury , produces organic vegetables, herbs, berries and heirloom and vintage tomatoes. According to its web site, the 86-acre farm is family-owned and managed by Sharon and George Purtill. Its tomatoes are the key ingredient in the salsa.

From their respective farms, the strawberries and tomatoes are taken to Onofrio’s in New Haven, where they’re prepared using recipes “constructed for Columbia ,” says Ralph Parillo, who owns the company and says he “basically runs it.”

Parillo says his company is an FDA-approved organic plant – “a small one, growing with its customers” that also include Yale University . He says he would “love to grow with Columbia , using local farmers whose produce has quality better than anything you could buy commercially.”

Dunn says such a good response, especially to the jam, is generating some talk about selling the jam and salsa retail in John Jay next year. Served over sponge cake and topped with fresh whipped cream, the jam was a star attraction on the menu for the Sept. 24 “Taste of New York” local dinner at John Jay.

On the web:  http://www.hindingersfarm.com/

                      http://www.oldmaidsfarm.com/