Gill Tract Community Farm Student Coalition

Gill Tract Community Farm Student Coalition

Project Lead: Helia Bidad

Project Sponsor: Dr. Jennifer Sowerwine, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management

TGIF Grant: $34,922

Project Theme: Agriculture and Food Justice

Application Submission

Project Description: GTCFSC will expand upon the efforts made from Phase I of this project, the Agroecological Fellows Program. It will also develop new initiatives and gain permanent funding for the program. GTCFSC has two main components: 1) Student fellowships and 2) student-initiated projects. The fellowship positions include two coordinators and nine student fellowships: Farm Management, Volunteer Management, Data Management, Food Distribution, Research, Food Justice, Communications & Outreach, and two Fundraising Fellows. The student-initiated projects are intended to provide financial and institutional support for students seeking to create new projects, programs, and research at the farm. We will also have one core project, the indigenous foodways project. The indigenous foodways project seeks to implement traditional systems of agriculture, education, and ceremony at the Farm in ways that strengthen the resilience and sustainability of the land and farm practices while also empowering urban indigenous peoples. These projects will empower students’ leadership, community engagement, and intellectual pursuits. They will also contribute to the success of the farm and by extension to the farm’s benefits to the campus, such as improved student food security and a lower carbon footprint.

Project Goals:

  1. Train students in the skills needed to be successful change-agents for food system transformation
  2. Expand and improve upon the accomplishments of Agroecological Fellows Program in Phase I, increasing the number of students directly involved in experiential learning at the farm
  3. Improve the farm’s produce distribution services in an effort to increase access to healthy, sustainablyproduced food for students who are food insecure
  4. Establish long-term financial support for this project