While it is true that the Stockbridge School of Agriculture has been offering courses in food production and marketing since the beginning, our students today are engaged in many learning activities that include farming but also focus on necessary changes to the larger food system.

Here are a few of the things Stockbridge and other UMass students have been up to in October….

• UMass Permaculture gleaned 900 lbs. of butternut squash from Plainville Farm in Hadley.  Thanks to Stockbridge Alum Xochi Salazar and her team for providing food to a  local shelter, the Student Farmer’s Market, and “Pledge” a program supporting sustainability, the use of “ugly” vegetables, and less food waste!

• Our Stockbridge Community Food Systems and our Food Justice and Policy classes collaborated with Nuestras Raices to provide high school students with the tools to conduct a school food survey at Paulo Freire Social Justice High School, as well as a community visioning session about a new community garden;  and designed production tracking systems with urban farmers.  Here are a few of the high school students during a visioning session.  Thanks so much to Stockbridge instructor Catherine Sands for connecting our UMass students to students in Holyoke!

• The SERSI student RSO is interested in helping with the Food Recovery Network and will focus future efforts in this direction.  Here are some of the SERSI members from last year. We look forward to see what 2016-17 will bring!

• UMass Sustainability is sponsoring a viewing of Just Eat It on October 24 at 5:00pm in the Berkshire DC.  See: https://www.facebook.com/events/1590541291250244/

• The UMass School of Public Policy and the Amherst Survival Centter is sponsoring an event with Congressman McGovern on  Oct. 26 Food Insecurity Event.    Stockbridge students plan to attend. 

• The UMass Real Food Challenge will hold their first meeting on October 27.  See: https://www.facebook.com/events/1412991848729412/

• The Food for All Garden at the Agricultural Learning Center is having a FALL HARVEST CELEBRATION preceded by GARLIC PLANTING on Friday, October 28th @ 4:30pm (garlic plant) and 5:30 is our Community Potluck.  Bring a food or non-alcoholic drink to share or just come hungry.  Hope you can join us!

AND… ANNOUNCING:

• Stockbridge will offer a one credit seminar in the spring titled How to Recover a Truly Sustainable Food System – A Look at Food Waste and Recovery, on Tuesday afternoons at 4:00-5:15pm.  Thanks to Mary Bell and Angela Roell who will be the instructors!