Farms to K:
Sustainable Local Agriculture  

Farms to K combines service-learning courses and student-led projects to link “K” students, staff, and faculty with individuals and organizations in the community to promote local agriculture and implement a local foods policy at the College.  The program grew from “Commitments,” Assistant Professor of English Amelia Katanski’s First Year Seminar,  a service-learning course in which students work with the non-profit Fair Food Matters and Tillers International to conduct research, develop marketing materials and design programs promoting sustainable agriculture.  Our goals grow out of our understanding that making the choice to buy and eat locally-grown foods is healthier for our bodies (by providing food grown for flavor and nutrition rather than the ability to withstand shipping), our community (by strengthening our economy and maintaining our rural heritage ), our environment (by using less fossil fuel for food production and transport and encouraging sustainable land management and labor conditions) and our spirits (by nurturing connections between us, the food we eat, and the people who produce it).

Farms to K meets regularly with Sodexho (dining service), farmers, nutritionists, economists and others to plan a strategy to buy more local foods at “K”.  They also work with KPS to improve community nutrition.  The program raises awareness of related public health and social justice issues: globalization; immigration and farm labor; child labor; obesity; environmental health; and world and local hunger -- amplifying what many students learn on study abroad programs focusing on sustainable agriculture.   Students have organized local food tastings to build campus-wide commitment to “buying local,” attracting over 500 students and community members, have arranged trips to farms and the Farmers’ Market, and an Alumni and Student Panel Discussion at Homecoming 2006, addressing “What We Eat and Why It Matters.”