Ecological Food & Farm Stewardship
“To cultivate sustainable food and community”
2005 and 2006 Activity Report
The above mission statement encompasses the
purpose, goals and accomplishments of the Ecological Food &
Farm Stewardship (EFFS), the student activist organization at
Michigan State University dedicated to promoting sustainable food
systems and associated with the MSU Student Organic Farm. As an
organization, we have followed this mission by creating opportunities
for students to participate in sustainable agriculture and food
systems activities. These activities have included conferences,
organized events on campus such as guest speakers and workshops,
and support and promotion of small farms and businesses that actively
practice or teach about sustainable agriculture.
We have taken field trips to over twenty local
and regional businesses, farms and conferences to educate ourselves
and other MSU students about current issues, research, opportunities
and people involved in sustainable food systems. In addition,
we have done extensive networking with other like-minded student
organizations and are currently part of the Michigan Students
for Sustainability Coalition (MSSC). One of our most fruitful
accomplishments has been the creation and facilitation of MSU's
on-campus Student Organic Farm Stand, which was made possible
through collaboration with the MSU Student Organic Farm (SOF).
Our status as a Registered Student Organization (RSO) allowed
us to navigate the bureaucracy of the university and establish
the Farm Stand. As shown through high sales, positive personal
feedback and extensive press and yearbook coverage, the farm stand
has proven to be a huge success and will soon be affirmed as a
permanant source for information and fresh organic produce on
the MSU campus.
Outreach events have been our primary vehicle
for member recruitment and student involvment. Over the past 6
months, outreach events have included a film showing during MSSC’s
Energy Film Festival, a bike rally during the October 25th Campus
Sustainability Day, and informational booths at the Student Organic
Farm’s Harvest Festival and the International Students’
Student Organization Fair. We also hosted a conference called
'Is this the Future of Food?', which featured the film 'The Future
of Food', 3 speakers and a dialog about transgenic crops. Our
most recent event was a local, organic gourmet dinner at the Green
River Cafe. We facilitated the purchase of the ingredients from
local farms, publicized the event, and gave brief presentations
on EFFS, the Student Organic Farm, and the rest of the farms and
co-ops where the food was purchased. The Farm Stand has also provided
opportunities for interaction with the larger university community
and served as a central platform for networking and recruitment.
In the near future, we will be taking part in Green Week, an environmental
fair organized by MSU’s Student Greenhouse Project. President
Mason Bradbury also recently created an online venue for EFFS
event promotion and member recruitment, on www.facebook.com. Other
future plans include meeting with John Turrenne during his MSU
visit about how student groups can promote sustainable food through
events and speakers, as well as a 5K marathon fundraiser with
other student groups to raise awareness about sustainability.
EFFS typically has between 6 and 12 core members,
including the steering team and officers, made up of both undergraduate
and graduate students from a wide range of departments and majors
(e.g. environmental studies, geography, anthropology, fisheries
and wildlife, forestry, horticulture, entomology, crop and soil
sciences). The number of peripheral members and affiliates that
attend meetings and events usually ranges from 10 to 50, and our
listserv reaches approximately 200 people. We give opportunities
for involvement and leadership to all interested students and
are continuing to recruit new members through events such as those
mentioned above, regular flyering, and t-shirt sales.
