Campus Gardens Supplement Student Nutrition

As food stamp use rises in the United States, University of Utah students are utilizing gardening on campus as a budget-friendly way to supplement healthy food in their diets.  Garden plots on campus are available to students through the Office of Sustainability to facilitate this health conscious, budget-friendly practice. 

Hunger: Moral Social Issue

      Salt Lake City is home to many Non-Profit Organizations dedicated to aiding people stricken by poverty, abuse, homelessness and hunger. How do we measure hunger? I had the opportunity to work with the Road Home; a non-profit establishment designed to cater to those people who have nothing. The street was full of men, women, teens, children, and entire families who spend their day waiting for the chance to be one of the chosen who receive help from the Road Home; they don't have the resources to shelter, feed, clothe and financially aid everyone who seeks their help. I couldn't bring myself to take photos of these people. The parks and benches of downtown Salt Lake City is home to hundreds of the homeless. Some argue these people are a blemish on the face of the community. I argue they are the salvation. The fact that more than 500 men, women and families are unable to fend for themselves is certainly more of an embarrassment to the larger community because we simply do not care. We may have a house but our windows are certainly broken. 

Sugarhouse Community Garden

This is a virtual tour of Sugarhouse Community Gardens. Each plot is owned,cared and payed for by individuals or organizations on a monthly basis. A variety of things are grown in the garden including and not limited to, raspberries, basil, squash, cantaloupe, lettuce, spinach, sunflowers, watermelon, tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins,etc.The Sugarhouse Community Gardens in addition to giving you a space to grow produce also provides classes on their maintenance and upkeep.

Nutritious Food on Campus

With so many different food venues on campus, it's  easy to grab a quick snack in between classes. But how healthy is what you're grabbing? With over 30,000 enrolled students, places all over campus are starting accommodating students with special diets/restrictions. This project will concentrate on exploring various places to find nutritious food, whether your diet is omnivorous, vegetarian, gluten-free or just plain healthy and balanced. This project will focus on the many options open to students at the U.

Joy Corpus

Bennion Center providing many opportunities for students

The Bennion Center, located at the Union Building on campus, is a great place for students to go to find many service opportunities. Each year, the Bennion Center presents a Hunger Banquet that allows students to display their work they've done to raise awareness of hunger in the community.
The Bennion Center provides student volunteer opportunities at the Campus Gardens, Farmers Market, or even off-campus locations to help the community.

The History of the University Campus Gardens

The Campus Gardens at the University of Utah began with a professor of biology, Dr. Fred Montague, who taught Global Environmental Issues and Ecologoical Principles of Organic Gardening using outdoor laboratories. These outdoor laboratories were transformed into garden sites by the Campus Gardens Advisory Committee upon Dr. Montague's retirement in 2010. The first garden, the Sill Garden, surrounds the Office of Undergraduate Studies just east of the Union building. The second garden site, Pioneer Garden, is just east of the Pioneer Memorial Theater. The gardens project is active year-round with summer and fall the height of the growing season.

By: Ryan Littlefield

Social Soup Series #1

This slideshow story is of the first Social Soup series,  “Body & Mind: Healthy Eating for the New School Year,” September 4, 2012, at the University of Utah.  There will be two more Social Soup events this semester on October 17 (Real Food for Food Day) and November 13 (The Food Stamp Challenge). The first one was in the Library on the first floor by the cafe and many students attended. The purpose of the lecture series is to discuss economical, social, and environmental issues on food. There was a lot of talk about eatting more healthy on a budget and what types of foods are the best for your health that will support optimal brain functioning and stress management. There was some talk about the food options at the school cafeteria in the student union. There was also some radish plants that were brought in free from the school's garden to eat.

The Food Stamp Challenge

Since 2007, the number of food stamp recipients in Utah has risen by 112 percent. The food stamp challenge which comes around every November, gives people the opportunity to live on a food stamp budget of $4 per day per person, $28 per week.

The farmers market at the University of Utah is a great way for many to achieve that goal of $4 per day. Not only do they have low prices, but with the acceptance of food stamps or food tokens as part of its program, everyone has the opportunity to take part. So give it a try this year.

The food of Social Soup

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxJR5bmF9EQ&feature=youtu.be

Among the great speakers that presented at Social Soup, there was what every college student desired: Food. Here the spread is perfectly laid out and prepared to be enjoyed while listening to informative lectures on nutrition as well as a cooking piece on how to make a delicious peach cobbler.
Bon Apetite!

Homecoming

 We will take a short break on the food/nutrition/hunger subject to show you a quick shot on how international students at the University of Utah participate on the Homecoming Week, through the eyes of people from different countries and with different life backgrounds. On this post, I will show what happened at an event called International Cafe, promoted by the International Center, where students gather and share experiences. Here's what was done at the house where the event took place.

Food Stamp Challenge: Encouraging Students to Take a Second Look at Their Eating Habits

The University of Utah will once again be kicking off its Food Stamp Challenge this November, giving students an opportunity to think more deeply than usual about what they eat, why they eat it and where they get it from.  Food stamp challenges encourage individuals to take a week (or longer) to live off of a food budget that is equivalent to what the average food stamp subscriber receives.  In 2012, that tallies up to about $4 per day.

Food stamp challenges are staged independently throughout the country each year and are lead by a number of entities, including religious groups, community activists and universities.  The University of Utah is proud to host its own iteration of the event.  According to U of U Sustainability Coordinator Kathleen Hunt, who is working to organize this year's Challenge and get it off the ground, it's a wonderful opportunity for students to gain a deeper understanding of their own consuming habits as well as social issues surrounding government food stamp programs. 

Nutrition on Campus

 

Everyone knows it's fairly easy to grab something quick to eat on campus when you're on the run to class. But how nutritious are those quick eats and how easy is it to find the nutrition facts? This semester I will focus on looking at the choices offered on campus and if they are easily and clearly labeled for nutritious content.

Bishops Storehouse

The bishop's storehouse system is a network of Church-owned and -operated commodity resource centers that function much like retail stores, with the major difference that goods cannot be purchased but are given to needy individuals identified by local LDS bishops. The storehouse stocks basic food and essential household items, produced largely from Church agricultural properties, canneries, and light manufacturing operations. The entire system, where practical, is vertically integrated, from farming and harvesting through processing and distributing. All work is performed by Church volunteers and recipients and is largely independent of the commercial economy. The contribution of time, talents, and resources of the membership of the Church in various areas sustains the storehouse. 

Local People Supporting Natural Food Options At the U

Local farmers garden who strongly supports the farmers market held on campus Thursdays during the fall.  Produce grown on a small farm/garden in the Salt Lake Valley.  Everything that is grown is not only local but also all natural.  They have been growing produce for the last two decades in the valley, and recently selling at the University farmers market.

Social Soup Lecture Series Kicks Off

By Scott Frederick

The Social Soup Lecture Series kicked off in the Gould Auditorium on September 4. Two big pots of freshly made gazpacho (with several ingredients coming from the U's own gardens) didn't last long in a room full of hungry students, staff and teachers. After a few words from people involved in the Social Soup series and a short video the floor was opened for questions and comments. Everyone was encouraged to eat freshly grown food, add more beans to ones diet as well as cutting back on meat.

After the question and answer period Chef Matthew Seare gave a demonstration on making peach cobbler. After the demonstration Seare served cobbler to the attendees.

Just a note, by the time I was done shooting pictures the gazpacho was long gone. I was able to score a big helping of the cobbler though--delicious.

Student volunteer opportunities at the U of U farmer's market

The topic I selected is about the variety of ways students can get involved with the on campus farmer's market. The photo story shows that a student would start at the office of sustainability and through them you can then help set up/shut down the festival, sell food at the campus garden booth or harvest food at the campus gardens.

A Nice Alternative to Ramen

Students at the University of Utah have an alternative to ramen noodles and the McDonald's Dollar Menu.  The Edible Campus Gardens give students to eat fresh fruits and vegetables at a low cost.  The gardens are cultivated by student volunteers.  Volunteers can have free fruits and vegetables.  The produce is also for sale at the U Farmer's Market.