Campus to table: Local, organic produce for UCF students

The National Restaurant Association named locally-sourced produce, environmental sustainability and more vegetable based meals in the top ten food trends of 2014. These trends are not lost on University of Central Florida (UCF) students as more are reaping the benefits of the Arboretum community garden and growing their own food at home.

The UCF Arboretum’s community garden takes up about 1 acre of the nearly 82 acre arboretum. About half of the garden area is allocated for vegetables, and the other half is fruit trees. All of the food from the garden goes directly to students, either to volunteers or through the Knight’s Pantry on campus. The arboretum donates approximately 100 pounds of produce a month to the pantry, totaling more than 150 pounds donated in the month of March. This means that students who are struggling to pay for food can incorporate fresh, local and organic vegetables into their diet, instead of just eating the canned and packaged food that is also readily available at Knight’s Pantry.

The garden is entirely maintained by volunteers, and students who volunteer get to bring home some of the food. “If you work the land, you get to reap some of the benefits” Jacques Werleigh, garden manager and leadership liason at the arboretum, said. Volunteers also get other incentives after meeting different goals, such as organic shirts, water bottles and tote bags, but students get to bring home produce each day that they volunteer. Any leftover food is composted and used to grow more vegetables.

The produce available at Knight’s Pantry also offers a particular benefit to vegans and vegetarians on campus. Melanie Arcic gets fresh greens, such as mustard greens, from the pantry because there aren’t many suitable options on campus for her lifestyle. Otherwise, she brings boxed lunches to school with her.

This summer, the arboretum will begin to offer workshops on urban agriculture, so students can learn more about how to grow food in limited spaces and on porches and balconies. Werleigh said that growing food is basic, and that it is a core component of our strength as a species.

“People like to say they don’t have a ‘green thumb’ but I say, ‘no, you’ve just forgotten.’” Werleigh said.

The arboretum garden is organic, which means that growing foods while they are in season is particularly important.

“You can’t have tomatoes year round,” Werleigh said. However, learning about the diversity within food creates a more rich and complete diet. When tomatoes are not in season, tomatillos – a similar food – are readily available. Most people are not aware that there are many different types of spinach since they only see the variety sold in grocery stores, Werleigh said. Three different varieties of spinach are currently in season at the community garden, along with beans, eggplant, peppers, squash and snap peas.

Werleigh also gave advice for common urban agriculture issues.

“Regardless of where you are, you can grow stuff,” he said. In spaces with limited sunlight, herbs and lettuce will thrive. On a balcony, vining plants – such as pole beans, some herbs and Malabar spinach – grow well. He also said that this type of gardening can supplement store bought foods in a way that is healthy and sustainable. 

For students interested in local and sustainable food, Werleigh said that eating locally, supporting local businesses that use organic products and getting involved in food-related public policy are all very important. Food policy issues are the most crucial, he said, particularly laws and rules regarding how food is grown, transported and delivered.

Werleigh said that he wishes more of the local and organic ethic will continue to spread to the UCF area as it has in parts of downtown Orlando and Winter Park where Dandelion Café and the new East End Market are thriving.

The community garden holds volunteer sessions each weekday, and can arrange for weekend volunteer sessions with advance notice and a group of five or more.

Guest Post: What is sustainable food?

My friend, Missy Patrick, is guest blogging today with her thoughts on what "sustainable food" really means.

I hope you enjoy!

 

Photo from doityourself.com

     Sustainable food to me is food that gives more than it takes from the land. When food is grown sustainably, it is done in a way that it doesn’t destroy the environment and leave the soil depleted. It is also grown specific to locations on the globe that it would do best in, i.e. plants that need a lot of water to grow are grown in rainy places, and plants that can take the cold are grown in the cold etc. So instead of trying to fight nature by trucking in a lot of water or using chemical fertilizers, the plants are grown in geographic areas were they would naturally thrive. This also ties in to local foods. 

     Everyone has probably heard more about ‘eating local’ nowadays as it is becoming a ‘green’ trend. Eating local means finding farmers in your town that you can buy your produce from instead of heading to a supermarket and buying produce that says ‘from Guatemala’ on it. This is an important part in eating sustainably because right now the only reason we are able to get produce from Guatemala, Chile, South Africa, etc. here in America is because of oil. The carbon footprint required to ship food all around the world is huge and it can be drastically reduced when buying local. Buying organic produce is also an important part of sustainability because non organic produce depletes the soil and puts dangerous chemicals into our environment, many that are known to cause disastrous effects on our health and the health of other creatures. 

     Conventional produce does not replace the trace minerals in the soil and is usually grown in monocrops that are susceptible to disease and insect infestations. This type of set up is not sustainable or ideal. However because we have such a large population and so many people depend on food from farmers, this type of farming has become the norm. To help reduce dependence and contribute to this, people can take up the backyard hobby of growing their own produce. When growing your own you have complete control of what goes into the soil and on your produce. You can add trace minerals to your soil and decide not to use any chemical fertilizers or pesticides. You can instead choose to plant your produce in a way that is can naturally thrive. By planting herbs and produce in different ways, you can naturally repel pests from your garden. By using fertilizers that come from your own compost pile, you can replenish the soil. 

     I have had very good experience growing my own produce. I recycle any uneaten portions of produce into my worm bin, where worms break down the organic matter and turn it into a very fertile compost complete with enzymes and healthy bacteria. This creates a suitable cycle in which anything that is removed from the soil is returned to the soil. Sunlight is free. Rain is free. Which reminds me, rain, an essential part of it, falls freely from the sky but maybe not as often as your plants need. It is then just a simple matter of storing rainwater to be used later by placing a couple rain barrels on the gutter system of your home to collect rainwater. This then can be easily used at the specific times you need it. 

     For people who feel like they have no time to tend a garden, all they need is a timer to water their garden for them and some grown cover to limit weed growth. If the plants you have chosen are suited to your environment, they will grown and be fruitful with little help from you. All you need do then is enjoy picking the fruits and vegetables that you have grown all by yourself.

What does "sustainable food" mean to you?