The environment advocacy group kicks off a Taste of Lexington for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic
By Victoria Ernst
Washington and Lee University’s Student Environmental Action League sponsored a Taste of Lexington for the first time in five years. The event offered free cuisine from local restaurants to W&L and Lexington community members, attracting about 110 students, SEAL’s Co-President Alicia Nguyen ’23 said.
“I didn’t not expect that many students to be interested in the taste of Lexington event,” Nguyen said. “I deem this as the first big step that we’re taking to bring SEAL to more students’ attention.”
SEAL hosts projects and events to engage students in environmental advocacy and awareness on campus and in Lexington, Co-President Allie Stankewich ’23 said. A Taste of Lexington, featuring sustainable dishes from four Lexington restaurants, is the biggest event the club has put on since the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.
SEAL held the last Taste of Lexington in March 2018. Back then, admission cost $10, according to SEAL’s Instagram page. This year’s event, held in W&L’s Science Center on April 2, was free of charge for attendees. The club used over two thirds of its budget from the W&L’s Executive Committee to provide the food.
“We have evidence to show to the EC that we can successfully pull this event off on again, so that we can get more food and more students in the future,” Nguyen said.
SEAL partnered with the Pan-Asian Association for Cultural Exchange to spread awareness and assist with funding for the event. Henry Chen ’25, one of the event coordinators of PAACE, said PAACE has connections with local restaurants from its own events and was interested in collaborating through Asian cuisine.
Stankewich said SEAL aims to collaborate with more clubs maximize student involvement.
“One of SEAL’s goals this year has been to increase our engagement and partnership with lots of different student organizations on campus,” she said. “We believe that through every ambition and through every interest area the environment has a role to play.”
The event is also an opportunity to connect students with community members, SEAL’s Head Event Planner Janae Darby ’25 said.
Darby said she called local restaurants to ask about their sustainability efforts and if they were willing to provide food for the event. Based on availability and practices, she organized sourcing food from Heliotrope, Pure Eats, Sushi Matsumoto and Globowl Cafe.
“These are four of several local restaurants who prioritize sourcing their food from local farms and local sources,” Stankewich said. “I think sustainability integrates how they’re affecting climate change and the environment physically, but also how they’re promoting sustainable livelihoods in rural communities.”
The event was expected to run for two and a half hours. The club sent out an RSVP link via e-mail and only expected 72 official attendees, Darby said. But the allure of free pizza, doughnuts and kimchi veggie fried rice couldn’t keep other students away. Attendees gobbled up the food in an hour.
But students took away more than just free food from the event. Before they enjoyed the dishes, the owners of Globowl Cafe and Heliotrope spoke about what they do in their restaurants to help the environment. Members of SEAL and PAACE spoke on behalf of Pure Eats and Sushi Matsumoto.
Student Hannah Puckett ’23 said in an interview she didn’t know about the restaurants’ local sustainability efforts before attending the event. Another attendee, Sierra Johnson ’25, said she learned about Globowl Cafe’s use of compostable takeout-ware.
Owner of Globowl Cafe Lauren McCaughrin said she appreciates talking to young people about her restaurant’s sustainability efforts.
“I’m happy to be connecting with students,” she said. “You guys are the future.”
The SEAL executive team is working to schedule more large-scale events in collaboration with other organizations as the pandemic becomes a memory of the past for W&L’s campus, Darby said.
Stankewich said she is happy to see the organization back in action after years of disruption due to Covid-19. Stankewich, who has been a member of SEAL since her freshman year, said the pandemic took a toll on SEAL’s presence on campus. The organization couldn’t meet in-person, lowering student participation during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Just this past academic year, SEAL’s club meetings had about 10-20 attendees, Nguyen said. But this year, the club is fully back to in-person activities and ramping up engagement with the W&L and Lexington community, Stankewich said.
“We also have a new generation of freshmen and sophomores who are really excited about SEAL projects,” Nguyen said.
SEAL aims to keep up energy with new events this Spring Term, Nguyen said. The organization will hold its first annual campus-wide garage sale on May 10. Students, faculty and staff can sign up for $5 to reserve a spot on Cannan Green and sell any items personal items.
Darby said she has already started planning tentative events with other organizations for the next academic year.
“We’re hoping to spread the word about SEAL and amp up engagement.”