The recent announcement by the University of Maine system, committing to a program requiring on-campus dining facilities to purchase at least one-fifth of their food locally by the year 2020, is indicative of a broader trend towards buying local here in Maine.

The university isn’t alone in moving towards the purchase of sustainable local agriculture. In recent years, farmers’ markets have been rapidly gaining popularity around the state. As consumers shift their purchasing habits in line with growing concerns about environmentally conscious behaviors and the use of pesticides in mass-produced food, local producers are seeing a renewed interest in buying local — an interest that has business booming.

While some of these markets, like the Orono Farmers’ Market in downtown Orono, have existed for upwards of 20 years, others are start up operations milking the public’s renewed interest in buying local. An interest that has now spread from individuals to the institutions that surround them. This new niche market is gaining steam, providing fuel to the fire under the university to partake in environmentally responsible practices when selecting which producers to contract with for feeding students.

But with any change comes concern. Buying foods locally can come at an increased cost to the consumer, and while tuition prices will remain stagnant for the foreseeable future, the money will need to be made up somewhere in the system’s tight budget. In a time when budgetary crises are nearly as common as the coming winter’s colds, that isn’t necessarily easy to compensate for.

But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worthwhile.

Sustainable food is an admirable endeavor, and the support for local businesses will help keep the economic cogs turning in the area. Continued development is important to keeping any state vivacious and healthy, particularly when other portions of Maine’s economy — like the aging paper industry — are stagnating.

While individual consumers make an important difference, it’s undeniable that a large institution like the UMS System will make an even more visible impact on small farmers in the state and the families that rely on their income.

Though shifting the burden of food purchasing to local producers may be a calculated financial risk on the university’s part, it’s a decision by the system that indicates an admirable effort towards acting in an environmentally, economically and locally responsible manner.

It’s also a decision that puts power back in the hands of the students, who have long demanded the system consider sustainable and responsible solutions – from divesting in fossil fuels to this new push for local foods.

This new initiative is further proof that the world will continue to change, and it’s up to those in it to keep up or be left behind.