UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State students living in White Course apartments have a unique opportunity to experience the work of the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Student Farm.
In a collaboration that began this past summer, the Student Farm, a unit of Student Affairs, donates some of its surplus produce to White Course after the weekly harvest. Residents are welcome to take the produce free of charge.
Residence Life Coordinator Greg Tyrrell retrieves the produce from the Student Farm every Thursday and brings it back to White Course’s Weston Community Center. He said the produce is usually claimed within an hour.
Leslie Pillen, associate director of farm and food systems, said the Student Farm typically donates its leftover produce to Lion’s Pantry. But because the Pantry receives fewer visitors when students go home over the summer, Pillen felt that White Course — primarily housing graduate students and families — would be able to make use of the extra produce.
“I think White Course is a great location to donate to in the summer, because a lot of the residents there are either international students or perhaps students with families and kids, and they’re often here in the summer,” Pillen said.
After a successful test run, Tyrrell said the collaboration took off, and there are plans for it to continue as long as the growing season lasts.
“It’s really popular. We don’t waste anything, and it benefits the community,” Tyrrell said. “We like fresh produce. It’s convenient, and food’s expensive. College is expensive. It just gives another avenue for us to help support one another.”
Tyrrell said he loves “to see the excitement that people get when they hear there’s fresh produce.”
“One thing I really appreciate about this collaboration is that it helps put food on the table for those that can benefit from it and need it,” he said.
According to Pillen, the collaboration also contributes to the Student Farm’s goals of avoiding food waste and addressing climate change.
“We waste nearly 40% of our food in the United States, which is outrageous when you think about all of the inputs required to produce, transport, process, refrigerate and cook our food,” Pillen said. “To toss 40% of it is quite a lot. For us on the farm, we really try to not waste food.”
This is not the first time the Student Farm has worked with White Course. Because White Course has a community garden, Pillen said she donated seedlings from the Student Farm and hosted a gardening workshop with residents in May to teach them how to make use of the plots.
Moving forward, Tyrrell hopes the collaboration with the Student Farm sparks generosity and a community mindset among his residents.
“One of my favorite songs is called ‘The Circle of Life,’ and one of the lyrics is ‘You should never take more than you give,’” he said. “I kind of hope this collaboration also inspires people to give when they can.”