With the harvests winding down and the winter season upon us, it’s time to celebrate our commitment to food justice this year! Did you know that a partnership between the Students for Food Security, the Food Systems Working Group, the Organic Farm, and the Clean Energy Committee created $8,500 worth in grant subsidies for students, both graduate and undergraduate, to be able to purchase farm produce at the Market Stand on Red Square at a 50% discount? Because of this subsidy, beginning in the spring of 2018 and lasting until the end of fall 2018, the Organic Farm observed an uptick in student customers at the register, estimated at around 8 out of every 10 customers, versus the year 2017 where student customers were observed at around 2 out of every 10. Equitable access to organic, sustainable, locally-produced, nutrient-dense food was made possible to more students through this grant and we love that it’s now fully funded for Spring 2019.
What made this grant even more accessible at the Market Stand was the collaboration between the Greener Bookstore and the Organic Farm sharing the use of a mobile credit card reader; in this way, students, staff, and faculty who cannot currently access cash from the campus ATMs can still purchase farm produce using a credit/debit card. Plus, students can still access the 50% food subsidy discount through credit/debit card purchases. After analyzing reports, it’s exciting to note a $4,167.14 increase in total credit card sales for the Organic Farm, averaging out to $189 per market! 44% of this total, or $1,833.54, were student credit card purchases. Hopefully, next year we’ll be able to track student cash purchases with a new register system.
This is history in the making! We’re experiencing the benefits of our commitment to food justice, food equity, and food security on campus. By creating avenues for local, sustainable, accessible, and affordable food on campus, we’re currently in the process of building a more closed-loop food system.
Next up on the agenda is to mobilize grassroots support for bill passage allowing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in the form of an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) debit cards to be used on campus. If the bill passes in early February, this will mean that anyone with an EBT card can purchase organic farm produce from the Market on Red Square, as well as select food items from the Greener Bookstore, P.O.D. market, Einstein’s, The Greenery, etc., with their EBT card. We’ll be talking to legislators at the capitol in January! To find out more, or how to support and get involved with these efforts, please contact Pamela Ronson at plronson@gmail.com, chair of the Food Systems Working Group, a student-led group on campus.
Pamela Ronson, student.
