The Penn State Student Farm Club is expanding its mission of spreading sustainable food systems education beyond the University Park campus boundaries.
Penn State Student Farm Club members were featured in a new, sustainability-focused section of the 2016 Pa. Farm Show
SFC members took to the road last weekend and made stops at the 100th annual Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg, Pa. and at the Dickinson College Farm in Carlisle, Pa.
A primary goal of the SFC is to engage with the wider agricultural community, and the weekend’s adventures afforded them the opportunity to do just that.
The SFC occupied a table in the “Know Your Farmer” section of the Farm Show, a brand new section that grouped together members of the sustainable agriculture movement — like student farms, Community Supported Agriculture programs and food systems educators and researchers — to encourage attendees to think about where their food comes from.
“It was really great to be represented in the inaugural ‘Know Your Farmer’ section,” Hayly Hoch, SFC Vice President, said. “The fact that somany different organizations were there just goes to show how sustainable agriculture really is a movement and a community that’s made up of more than just farmers.”
Part of the SFC’s goal is to show the Penn State community what Hoch said she saw at the Farm Show — that everyone, not just farmers, should have a stake in the food they eat.
The Penn State SFC shared their table at the Farm Show with student -farm groups from two other Pennsylvania schools, Dickinson College and Chatham University, both of which are already home to student-centered farms like the one that was recently approved at Penn State as the result of SFC’s campaign.
“The opportunity to network with other schools that have student farms was really important,” Hoch said. “Learning about how they were able to reach the same goals that we’re working toward was incredibly helpful.”
SFC members also spoke with high school students about Penn State’s programs in agriculture and community development.
In addition to their stop at the Farm Show, SFC members visited and toured Dickinson College’s student-centered farm, which Hoch said is a model for what the SFC is working to establish at Penn State.
“We got to see firsthand how much that kind of farm can help and engage the entire community, and that’s what we want to establish at Penn State,” Hoch said of the Dickinson College Farm.
