By: Julia Mertes, Communications Intern, The Lion’s Pantry
Local and global food systems, especially with regard to the agricultural practices instated on farm land, impact food security levels.
Leslie Pillen, the associate director of Farm and Food Systems, said there are various dimensions to sustainable agriculture and every person may have a different interpretation about the subject and how it impacts the local community.
Experts define sustainable agriculture as farming utilizing sustainable techniques that help society obtain current food and textile needs while also ensuring future generations will be able to meet their needs, according to UC Davis.
“Sustainable agriculture is about protecting the resource base from which our food comes from, ensuring that there is enough healthy food for all but in a way to not undermine our actual ability to grow food,” Pillen said.
She said people may consider various factors that impact sustainable agriculture.
While “organic agriculture” provides benefits like a reduced chemical load in the environment and chemical exposure for workers, “local agriculture” provides other positives like increased support for the local economy and the protection of the viability of local environments, according to Pillen.
She said another dimension of sustainable agriculture centers around sustainability and ensuring progress is made with climate change and carbon admissions.
Through unsustainable practices, Pillen said “we are—at the end of the day—threatening the resource base that we rely on for food.”
Sophie Eyer currently works as a Student Farm intern, specifically as a wholesale manager whose primary responsibilities include managing the farm’s finances and inventory. Beyond her experience at the Student Farm, she also served as a Lion’s Pantry manager during the 2021-22 academic year.
Eyer said her experiences at Penn State shaped her interest in learning appropriate farming practices that would enable positive benefits in society.
Many large-scale farms that are owned by sizable corporations began using a profit-based system—specifically monocropping—which focuses on the unsustainable practice of producing a single type of crop with available acreage each year, Eyers (senior-community environment and development) said.
“When you’re constantly forcing the soil to just produce the same crop, it’s just going to take out the nutrients, especially if you’re not switching up the products, giving the nutrients it needs otherwise [or] participating in crop rotations that will increase yield,” Eyers said.
Eyers said many industrialized farms utilize machinery and pesticides that create runoff and pollute waterways and other ecological services. However, she said organic practices typically require minimal pesticides and herbicides, which is typically better for the environment, consumers, and sustainable agriculture as a whole.
“These large-scale farms produce a lot of food, which can be seen as a benefit,” Eyer said. “But if anything, it’s producing too much, and we’re faced with food waste. Plus, it’s not sustainable, and if they continue to farm the way that they are, they’re just going to deplete the soil and ruin the natural environment [inhibiting] future production of crops.”
Eyer said having local food systems—like the Student Farm in the Penn State area—helps strengthen a community and connect people with the resources they need.
“The Student Farm is a very good example [of] how a small-scale farm can produce a lot of food because we’re only four acres, and we have eight field blocks,” Eyer said. “Yet, we produce a lot of food, are able to provide food at different kinds of markets and still have leftovers for the volunteers, workers, and people in the community.”
What role do local farms have in food insecurity and sustainable agriculture?
Eyer said she believes local agriculture and sustainable agriculture go “hand-in-hand,” especially in “decreasing one’s footprint.” Sourcing produce from local vendors—rather than outsourcing to locations across the country—decreases transportation costs and carbon outputs, she said.
The average meal consumed in America travels between 1,500 and 2,500 miles to reach customers; however, locally grown food averages 45 miles of travel to reach consumers, according to the Borough of State College’s website.
She said people should find ways to support their local and small farmers financially and through programs that support sustainable farming practices.
Eyer said people should learn how to garden and interact with agriculture in order to help provide food for themselves and others in the community. She said community gardens act as a principle way to educate people about gardening and farming practices.
Before her internship with the Student Farm, Eyer said she possessed no gardening or farming experience and had minimal interactions with plants.
“Now, I could say that if you gave me an acre of land, I could grow three types of crops and then be fine for a few months,” Eyer said.
Being a member of the Student Farm and also having experience with The Lion’s Pantry, Eyer said she’s enjoyed seeing how local produce can benefit people facing food insecurity. She said she’s proud that small farms—like their own—can allocate extra produce to those facing food insecurity.
More than 800 million people face hunger every day worldwide, according to US Aid. In fact, the number of individuals facing world hunger rose to an estimated 828 million in 2021, which increased over 50 million people within a year span due to factors like political conflicts, climate change and the coronavirus pandemic, according to a July 2022 report from the World Health Organization.
“Normally, those facing food insecurity have access to products that can sit on the shelf for a long time because it’s easier to donate and keep,” Eyer said. “Fresh produce isn’t always readily available for those individuals, which is crazy because fresh foods provide physical and psychological benefits.”
Eyer said she’s currently collaborating with Student Farm Faculty Partner Leslie Pillen to better understand the disconnect between farm systems and community-based organizations that are trying to provide food services to those in need.
“There’s an issue where we—as a society—just can’t figure out how to create that connection between farmers who have extra produce and people that are food insecure and would benefit from allocations of those products,” Eyer said.
“Working on the farm, it’s made me realize my passion for combatting this issue of food insecurity because I know how to grow, I know how to farm, I could create a lot of change, and I could be a part of these projects that are trying to fix our systems,” Eyer said. “It’s fueling my hunger to help fix this because this many people should not be food insecure in such a developed country.”
Olivia Kranefuss, former Student Farm program director and current conference coordinator, expressed similar sentiments to Eyer regarding the challenges of supplying those in need with excess food.
Kranefuss (senior-agricultural business and management) said unsustainable production methods may quickly produce high quantities of food; however, those facing food insecurity don’t typically have access to those healthy types of food that provide diverse health benefits.
“It’s not always enough to say, ‘Great! Here’s a package of Hamburger Helper or processed chicken nuggets. This will be dinner for a week,’” Kranefuss said. “The next step toward true food security is making healthy and natural food available to all people as well.”
Kranefuss said “many dimensions” exist to food insecurity, and access acts as one of them. She said increasing local food options and sourcing locations would be one way to improve access to fresh food for all people.
Food deserts and apartheids act as another barrier to fresh food since people who have money are unable to access the fruits and vegetables they desire to consume, Kranefuss said. She said local and smaller farms that practice sustainable agriculture would alleviate some of these challenges.
Many rural areas deal with “food deserts,” which are areas with minimal access to healthy foods—potentially due to extensive distances to supermarkets in rural areas. Local farmers provide communities with other healthy food options, which aid in alleviating food insecurity stresses and food deserts, The Institute for Functional Medicine records.
Jimmy Alamia, a Lion’s Pantry Intern and Food Justice Project Team Leader with the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Student Farm, said he became involved in both programs “to be a part of solutions that are critical to America as we speak.”
“So many Americans are sitting at home right now absolutely perplexed as to why they feel daily nausea, why they have low productivity, and why their bodies do not feel too functional,” Alamia (sophomore-chemical engineering) said. “I like to inspire change under the idea that the food you put into your body has a deep effect on your everyday health. That’s why I am a part of The Lion’s Pantry and the Student Farm.”
For many people, Alamia said eating healthy remains a luxury, especially since large food companies control food options and set the price point for products.
“The most common unit for measuring how full a product makes you is the calorie, and this is why many people rely on starchy, high-fat foods to survive: their cost-to-calorie ratio is low,” Alamia said. “Sustainable agriculture at Penn State means we can incorporate high-quality produce from the farms in the dining halls on campus, which makes the cost-per-calories of healthy, locally-grown items more affordable.”
What is the Student Farm and its Pay-What-You-Can Market?
Pillen says the Student Farm positively impacts sustainability measures since campus dining purchases a portion of their produce from the Farm, which refrains from using synthetic chemicals on products and only requires short travel time to deliver the produce that will be used for meals and distributed to students.
She said the Penn State Dining Commons can only purchase a limited amount of produce from the Farm, partially due to the limited labor supply.
Since there’s a dwindling number of student workers contributing to food prep within the dining halls, Pillen said the Dining Commons shifted to purchasing pre-cut and prepared fresh produce items to eliminate prep work.
“One driver that will likely limit the volume of produce that comes from local farms is that some of the biggest products preferred by consumers are tropical fruits and vegetables like pineapple, avocados, and bananas that we can’t grow here,” Pillen said.
The Student Farm dedicates time and resources to address food insecurity within the local community, such as through educational programming and film screenings that encourage further dialogue about the issue, according to Pillen
“We try to make sure that the excess produce from the farm, as much as possible, is getting distributed out to people who need it—rather than composted it,” Pillen said.
For instance, Alamia said the Student Farm’s Pay-What-You-Can Market Popups allow students easy accessibility to produce at the HUB.
Project leader Alamia helped found the Student Farm’s “Pay-What-You-Can” Farm Stand, a new initiative where those facing food insecurity could pay an affordable price for fresh produce grown on the Student Farm.
The stand ran from every Monday in October within the HUB-Robeson Center, which provided students and community members easy access for affordable produce that varied throughout the season. No payment was required for the products, but customers were invited to pay using cash, check or LionCash.
“Many people are appreciative, and the donations we receive cover the [approximate] amount of produce we sell,” Alamia said. “Some people pay more than the suggested prices, and some people pay less. We explain the stand’s model to everyone who comes by and that the money we generate will go toward future food insecurity efforts by the Student Farm.”
Alamia said the weekly stand provides students with easy access to healthy and affordable produce that can supplement their nutrition for the week.
“Some are surprised that we don’t require payment for the produce,” Alamia said. “I make it clear that the farm stand is not a business, so people should not feel pressured to buy something. It is completely fine if someone comes, looks around and leaves—there is no pressure.”
“I’ve noticed that the Pay-What-You-Can Market products are the only produce [items] that some people have access to if they don’t live near a grocery store or have a car to get to Wegmans, Trader Joe’s, or Walmart,” Kranefuss said. “Even if people can get to Target for a grocery trip, the store doesn’t have a great variety of produce and it’s often [overly] expensive, which is where local produce can help people.”
Many individuals, especially those in rural and low income communities, struggle with ongoing food price inflation and supply chain issues following the pandemic and current global trends, according to The Institute for Functional Medicine.
Kranefuss said she’s been drawn to participating in the Student Farm because they are so active in addressing problems facing local food systems and work to be part of a solution.
“Food insecurity is a very real issue for students on college campuses around the country, especially for students in off-campus housing who might not have access to on-campus meal plans” Kranefuss said. “Before coming to Penn State, I thought, ‘Oh, people have a meal plan, so they can just go to the dining halls and eat there.’ I didn’t realize that it’s not a viable option for a lot of students who can’t afford meal plans or are dealing with [personal] situations.”
She said she finds “beauty and comfort” knowing where her food comes from and knowing that it was raised in a more natural way, especially at Penn State due to her experiences with the Student Farm.
“The Farm allows students to connect with their food in a way they hadn’t before coming here,” Kranefuss said. “It allows them to see the lettuce used in the dining halls and recognize that it was actually grown a mile and a half from the establishment. It just highlights that farmers are part of a movement connecting people with their food and food systems.”
