Community potlucks and bike smoothies at Carleton College

Carleton College students dig food. Really. On October 4, many were found in the backyard garden during Harvest Fest at the Farm House, digging up the greatest of treasures—heirloom French Fingerling, Yukon Gold, and Purple Peruvian potatoes from Seed Savers Exchange just across the border in Decorah, Iowa. “This is so exciting!” exclaimed many new freshmen farmies, excited to get dirt beneath their fingernails. Others in attendance at this annual celebration carved pumpkins and ate salsa made from the garden’s many varieties of tomatoes, peppers, and tomatillos.

Only about a month into fall term, Carleton already celebrated autumn’s bounty in numerous ways. The student-run food justice organization, Food Truth, kicked off the year with a large community potluck that featured an abundance of local, seasonal food. Students made smoothies powered by a bike, and many attended the local CROP walk, which raised funds for organizations fighting hunger and malnutrition locally and around the globe. Bon Appetit, the new Dining Services provider at Carleton, served a lunch made almost entirely with foods from within 150 miles of campus as part of their nationwide Eat Local Challenge—including Rainbow Swiss Chard from the student garden.

Now, Food Truth is gearing up for Fair Trade Month with fair trade food sampling and an awareness campaign. They have been running a petition drive for the Declaration for Healthy Food and Agriculture (fooddeclaration.org) and for a vegetable garden on the White House lawn—Eat the View (eattheview.org). Food Truth also continues to have weekly dinners to share food and celebrate community.