UWindsor Food Services was an early adopter of a ketchup produced using local tomatoes.

Switching to French’s for its ketchup was “the right thing to do,” says executive chef Paolo Vasapolli.

The brand has won a great deal of goodwill for sourcing its tomato paste from the Leamington Highbury Canco plant that formerly processed ketchup for Heinz. According to Vasapolli, the company supports about 700 jobs in the area.

Recent news reports have detailed consumers and institutions changing over from Heinz to French’s ketchup, and Vasapolli says the University got on board early.

“We switched in January, probably the first university in Canada to switch,” he says. “We are all about supporting local as much as possible.”

Rayna Lamond, a first-year student drama in education and community, says she noticed the change in the condiment served at the Marketplace food court.

“I like this ketchup. It’s really good!” she said as she topped her burger Tuesday.