As UC Santa Cruz celebrates its 50th anniversary, the 2015-2016 Campus Food & Garden Guide offers a great example of what makes the campus a special place and a leader in efforts to create a more sustainable food system.
This year also marks the debut of an online companion to the printed guide that will go live Friday, Oct. 23 in anticipation of National Food Day, Saturday.
Produced annually by the UC Santa Cruz Food Systems Working Group and the Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS), the printed 48-page guide offers resources and information on the many ways that students can get involved in UCSC's food system.
The guide can help you find a farming or gardening internship, a class related to your food systems studies, support for your own food-related project, or a campus garden looking for volunteers. It also brings together information on the many campus organizations involved in food systems work at UCSC, and how you can get involved. You’ll learn about the history of farm-to-college work at UCSC and the campus’s “Real Food” goals.
The online version of the Campus Food & Garden Guide will feature an interactive food map with information on the many farms and other vendors that supply the campus dining halls and restaurants. Check the website for upcoming activities, food system-related news, and new funding opportunities.
Free copies of the Campus Food & Garden Guide are available at campus libraries, the Bay Tree bookstore, the Cowell Health Center, the Student Union, campus dining halls, and other sites throughout campus. A pdf of the printed guide is also available online at http://casfs.ucsc.edu/farm-to-college/cfgg-15-web.pdf.
National Food Day activities
- UCSC Dining will feature a sustainable food menu option at each dining hall for all three meals on Friday, Oct. 23.
- The Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems has launched a weekly student-run organic produce pop-up cart at the Baytree Plaza Wednesdays from 2:30-5 p.m. weekly throughout the school year.
- This cart will feature CASFS farm produce in addition to organic produce from a variety of local, organic growers that participate in the Downtown Farmers Market on Wednesdays. The goal is to increase access to organic produce for the campus and students.
- Students who suffer hardship and financial stress and seek support through the Dean's "Slug Support" program will be eligible for tokens they can use at these markets. Other options are available through the Global Food Initiative Food Access and Security Funds.
