The U-M Sustainable Food Program (UMSFP) is celebrating the release its 2013 Annual Report featuring the accomplishments of its student Leadership Team and 10 student member groups working towards meaningful change through diverse aspects of sustainable food. In 2013, UMSFP and its member groups helped integrate sustainable food topics into academics, created hands-on learning opportunities at three on-campus gardens and the Campus Farm, and provided food to students and community members.
Highlights from the report include a sample of class collaborations, resulting in 38 sustainable food-related projects completed, and an impressive list of presentations given and conferences attended. Landscape Architecture students in the School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE) created site plans for the Campus Farm that incorporated outdoor classroom space, community gathering areas, and creative food production plots that reflected the visions of students running the Campus Farm. Two SNRE Masters Project groups presented their work with UMSFP and the Campus Farm in classrooms and at conferences, including the annual conference of The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
All 10 member groups shared major accomplishments and learning experiences, with the Food Recovery Network celebrating over 5,000 lbs of food recovered from dining halls and brought to Food Gatherers and UMBees explaining their first-hand encounter with Colony Collapse Disorder. At the School of Public Health, Student Advocates for Nutrition found time between tending their courtyard garden, attending professional development events, and organizing book clubs to publish a monthly newsletter covering the range of student expertise represented in the group.
Fresh produce grown by students at the Ginsberg Center, School of Public Health, Outdoor Adventures, and the Campus Farm at Matthaei Botanical Gardens made its way to the homes of hungry student volunteers, to Food Gatherers, and even to South Manitou Island on a backpacking trip in northern Michigan. Two member groups joined forces to allow for the first sale of Campus Farm produce through the Student Food Co. Campus Farm produce was also sold for the first time at MFarmers Markets in the fall. With several groups currently expanding their work with grants from the Planet Blue Student Innovation Fund, UMSFP and is poised for another year of on-the-ground and in-the-dirt leadership and action.
These student groups, working on everything from food access to nutrition education and gardening, are evidence of a growing interest in sustainable food around campus. Along with academic initiatives, UMSFP has been responding to and supporting that student energy. Students driving this work are applying what they learn in the classroom, the community, and the “living learning labs” of campus gardens to their own interests and career paths.
"UMSFP has opened the door to opportunity in sustainable food for me both at the University of Michigan and in the local food scene,” says Rachael Gingerich, a Program in the Environment Senior and member of the UMSFP Leadership Team. “Experiences with member groups like Friends of the Campus Farm, UMBees, and the Michigan Sustainable Foods Initiative helped guide me towards receiving a full-time farm apprenticeship this upcoming season. UMSFP is truly a supportive community of students who want to change the food system in creative ways!”
The 2013 Annual Report, available on the UMSFP website, represents the hard work and dedication of student leaders who are committed to making the University of Michigan the Leaders and Best in sustainable food and to using food as an avenue for change in their own circles of influence now and in the future.
Since its founding as a Masters Project through SNRE in 2012, UMSFP has grown with support from students, faculty, staff, and community members. The mission of UMSFP is to foster collaborative leadership that empowers students to create a sustainable food system at the University of Michigan while becoming change agents for a vibrant planet. Under the guidance of an 8-member student Leadership Team, and with support from a part-time Program Manager and an Advisory Board, UMSFP furthers this mission through education, community building, and food production. To learn more, get involved, or sign up for a weekly newsletter, visit umsfp.com.