U-M Campus Farm Report 2020

CAMPUS

FARM

REPORT

FALL 2020

02 | Campus Farm Report 2020

Our Mission The mission of the Campus Farm is to serve the greater University of Michigan community through the creation of authentic and high impact research, teaching, and learning opportunities in sustainable food systems by increasing academic engagement, creating a learning community that fosters leadership development, diversity, equity and inclusion, on-farm carbon neutrality, and food grown for students by students.

Our Vision Campus Farm is helping transform the University of Michigan into a worldclass institution for twenty-first century scholarly research, teaching, and engagement related to the production of sustainable food. The Farm aims to provide a living learning laboratory for sustainable food systems work on campus, advance food justice within the greater U-M community, achieve on-farm carbon neutrality, and empower students through leadership development to be agents of change.

02 | Campus Farm Report 2020

BY THE NUMBERS

We are able to cover the majority of our operating and new

infrastructure expenses through produce sales to MDining, plant sales, and generous support from our donors and Matthaei-Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum. Here are a few numbers from our 2019 season:

6,302 lbs

5,134 lbs

Kale & Chard

Cherry Tomatoes

5,338 lbs Lettuce & Salad Mix

Total weight of all produce sold:

34,751 lbs!

DIVERSITY EQUITY INCLUSION Here at the U-M Campus Farm, our dedication to our core values that tie together community, sustainable food, and academic excellence for the public good is inseparable from our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). In fact, we use DEI as a lens to innovation as we continue to be an inclusive, 21st-century, living-learning laboratory for all students, faculty, and staff.

We measure DEI on the Campus Farm in several ways: with student-driven climate surveys, by incorporating DEI in our hiring practices, in the language we use with one another, and through the experiences we create inside and outside our environment.

We also collaborate with other organizations on DEI workshops, and we are currently revising our DEI Strategic Plan for 2020-2022.

We host UM summer programming, including Bridge Scholars program, Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program, and MSTEM Academies. This hosting provides experiential learning in food systems and agroecology for incoming U-M students from underrepresented backgrounds. We also help care for the Indigenous Collaborative Garden at Matthaei-Nichols each summer.

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VISIONING THE FUTURE In the 2019-2020 school year we held our annual visioning retreat to incorporate DEI into our daily practices. As a group we each explored what diversity, equity, and inclusion mean to us individually and collectively, and we also discussed various definitions of food justice.

One of our DEI efforts for the winter semester was working with the RACKHAM Professional DEI Certificate program. The farm welcomed conversations with graduate students who are pursuing a leadership component within DEI. We took a tour of the facilities and had an intimate conversation around food Justice, food access, and food insecurity.

Summer 2020 project plans will be drafted from the synthesis of our Annual DEI Survey to show our continued commitment and dedication to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Our proposed projects include: providing increased awareness about free transportation for students to the farm to increase access, teaming up with Maize and Blue Cupboard to grow culturally appropriate foods and collaborating with University of Michigan Sustainable Food Program to organize cooking demonstrations for those foods.

We have also furthered our adoption of DEI practices by ensuring that we create narratives in our photos that show who we are as both an organization and as individuals. We hope to unite with affinity groups on campus to increase our outreach to a broader range of identities within the U-M student body.

Additionally, we are devoted to creating new learning opportunities for our visitors, such as acknowledging and informing them about contributions to sustainability and regenerative farm practices by people of color.

"There is no culture without agriculture."

ODUNO A. TARIK

FOOD GROWN BY STUDENTS Produce delivered weekly to Campus Dining halls in reusable food grade bins

We now sell at Maizie’s (in the League) and Munger (graduate residence hall).

Hoping to expand to other MDining retail locations

In 2019, we sold $122,825 worth of produce to Campus Dining Operations!

CF Managers chose which produce, set the prices, and stocked the produce at the retail locations. In exchange for the space, MDining receives 25% of the retail price and CF receives 75%- an Argus Farm Stop inspired model that returns a much higher margin than most wholesale arrangements!

FOR STUDENTS

16 Dining Locations WE SELL TO

BURSLEY

SOUTH QUAD

EAST QUAD

NORTH QUAD

MOSHER JORDAN

MARKLEY

TWIGS

AND MORE! 07 | Campus Farm Report 2020

DONATIONS & In September 2019, we started donating CF produce to newly opened Maize and Blue Cupboard (MBC) food pantry. MBC, located in the garden level of Betsy Barbour Residence Hall, ensures that members of the UM community receive equitable access to healthy, nutritious, and nourishing foods. In the past year we have donated 1830 lbs of produce to MBC!

PANDEMIC RESPONSE We were fortunate enough to keep the farm open in the summer of 2020 by growing food for those in need during this difficult time. This work was generously supported by funds from the American Public Garden Association.

PLANT SALES Every year, the CF grows and sells transplants for home gardens through the Kitchen Favorites Plant Sale at Matthaei Botanical Gardens and the Campus Farm Online Plant Sale with distribution at the Ginsberg Center on campus. Plant production is led by the Head Grower student management position.

Proceeds benefit CF and MBGNA. Plants are grown following organic practices and are available through plant sales in May. The sale features a wonderful variety of our favorite tomatoes, peppers, herbs and more.

09 | Campus Farm Report 2020

FRIENDS OF THE CAMPUS FARM Each Friday evening from 4-6 pm during the Fall and winter semesters we hosted 15-37 students and on Sundays in the fall we hosted 6-18 students each week

We had 36 student engagement workdays with a total attendance of 746, and a total of 1,492 hours of student engagement through workdays.

Almost every Friday and Sunday, our partner student organization, Friends of the Campus Farm in coordination with CF managers, brings students out to the farm for a couple hours of fun and farming.

Student participation and the total number of student engagement hours from the FCF workdays has more than doubled since Fall 2016!!

U-M SUSTAINABLE FOOD PROGRAM We continue to collaborate with the University of Michigan Sustainable Food Program (UMSFP) and their 13 member groups through our UMSFP Liaison Manager position and events, such as Harvest Fest.

EVENTS AT THE FARM + CAMPUS We have participated in several events this year: Festifall Earthfest MFarmers Markets Springfest Organized/Hosted the annual Harvest Fest in collaboration with UMSFP Follow our Instagram or Facebook (@UMichCampusFarm) to see our Meet Your Farmer Mondays social media campaign that highlights one of our student farmers each week on Monday!

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STUDENT & ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT

19

U-M

COURSES UTILIZED THE FARM

15

COURSES VISITED THE FARM

8

COURSES WE VISITED ON CAMPUS

≈555

STUDENTS ENGAGED WITH THE FARM DURING CLASS IN 2019

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TRANSPORTATION Our efforts to expand transportation options to the farm resulted in a proposal for an ondemand pilot with Lyft that we hope can be launched this year.

The nearby Matthaei Botanical Gardens Trail is also an option.

The trail connects the farm with central campus and beyond. This Fall we are hosting bike to the farm workdays ever Saturday.

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DEVELOPMENT Our development committee organized the Campus Farm Giving Blue Day campaign, created the farm's first online newsletter, and continues to build relationships with alumni and donors in coordination with the Matthaei-Nichols development team.

Thanks to our 12 donors, on Giving BlueDay last year we raised $550. Many generous donors have also come forward to help support the farm’s programming and infrastructure.

We received a generous gift from long-time MatthaeiNichols members Don Tinson and Annette Shaffer, and The Porter Family Foundation to install an additional passive solar hoop house, which makes it possible to grow crops in the cold winter months and is essential to year-round student engagement with sustainable food systems.

A generous gift from the Michael Cameron Dempsey Fund has allowed us to continue the development of the farm by enhancing aesthetic and ecological qualities while encouraging visitor engagement within the space.

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CAMPUS FARM CREW + MANAGEMENT TEAM

28 TOTAL STAFF ON TEAM IN '19-'20 SCHOOL YEAR 1 Program Manager (Matthaei-Nichols Staff) 1 Farm Management Fellow 2 Freight Farm Managers 9 Student Farm Managers (DEI, Development & Events, Financial, Food Safety & Orders, Marketing & Communications, Retail Sales Manager, Student Engagement, UMSFP Liaison, and Lead Student Manager) 2 Coordinators: Donations & On Campus Gardens Coordinator 11 Crew Members 1 Edible Perennial Landscape Project Coordinator 1 Plant Sale Head Grower

THANK

TO ALL THE CAMPUS FAR PRESENT, AND ALL THE F DONORS, AND SU CONGRATULATIONS ON A

YOU!

RMERS- PAST AND FACULTY, STAFF, PPORTERS, ALL THE SUCCESS!

campusfarm@umich.edu @umichcampusfarm

UM Campus Farm, 1800 N Dixboro Rd Ann Arbor, MI 48105