Ohio State University students, faculty, and staff are moving forward with implementing a sustainable student farm on campus

Student run farms are not a new concept for universities and colleges in the United States. In recent years, however, there has been an increasing interest among faculty, staff, and students in sustainable agriculture and the re-localization of the food system. As a result, student farm and garden projects have been cropping up across the country with such force that the Rodale Institute considers it a student farm movement. Ohio State, the largest land grand university in the country, can now be added to the growing list of institutions involved in this movement.

In Fall 2008, a new OSU group "Students for Food Sovereignty" was formed on campus with the mission to "strengthen the movement toward sustainable agriculture, food sovereignty, biodiversity, and agricultural diversity through education and action on campus and in the community." Students in the group saw the establishment of a student run farm as a practical, hands-on approach to educating leaders in such a movement. By becoming a visible and well-known project at OSU, the farm would also serve to raise awareness about food and agriculture issues and increase involvement among all students throughout the campus. During autumn quarter, students met with the director of OSU Campus Dining services, faculty and staff in the College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Sciences, and the manager of Waterman Farm, an Agriculture and Natural Resources Lab. As of November, land has been set aside for students to begin farming on in the spring, a course has been set up for preliminary planning to occur during winter quarter, and Students for Food Sovereignty is continuing to recruit students interested in the project.

For more information, contact Connie Rice at constance.e.rice@gmail.com