Josh Slotnick, Director of the PEAS farm and Lecturer, Environmental Studies Program, University of Montana

Agriculturally Supported Community; The Socially Transformative Power of a Civic Student Farm

The public nature of a student farm makes possible a type of community development not typically associated with agriculture. When structured with the surrounding population in mind, a student farm can become a powerful catalyst for community. In 1997 The University of Montana’s student farm partnered with the non-profit Garden City Harvest in Missoula, Montana to start a student farm. The farm was to tangibly address food security as well as education in sustainable agriculture for college students. Over time though, we saw that the experience of growing food together was as great a benefit as the food itself. Working from that understanding, the original partnership has now grown to include a number of other community-based organizations, who’s goals, at first blush, have nothing to do with food and farming. This talk will discuss the power of the experience of growing food together and cover some of the possibilities in partnerships and program design to maximize the civic potential of student farms.