Students at Montana State University have partnered with a local food bank to grow fresh vegetables and educate a community about the value of growing food locally. The students — Friends of Local Foods — in the ag department have taken over two acres, first thinking they’d provide food for the school. But then they partnered with Townes Harvest CSA to feed the community…and have a veggie cart on campus.
The idea is to showcase this “giant green billboard” to show to develop a small “intensively managed farm.” Says Farmgirl Kaly Hess, who is FLF’s president, “This will be a classroom where people can learn how to grow their own food and take some control over what they eat and their health.”
She adds, “Agricultural systems have gotten so large — and distant — that most people no longer know where their food comes from or how it was raised. We’ve lost that community connection so integral to food, health and an awareness of the land. Anyone who buys from us will be welcome to come to the farm anytime — we encourage that.”
Virtual Farmgirl 