Author: Nick Nam
F.E.A.S.T. (Food, Energy, and Sustainability Team) harvested their crops from their organic garden outside the Urban Environment Policy Institute for the first time since their beginnings last semester.
Founder and president Elissa Chandler (senior) and the F.E.A.S.T. members have been meeting every Thursday evening at five to tend to different vegetables including squash, pumpkins, purple beans, cucumber, and corn.
The vegetables are distributed among members of F.E.A.S.T. after they are harvested. Members of F.E.A.S.T. not only cook and eat the fruits of their labor, but the gardeners give to the community.
F.E.A.S.T. plans on bringing their vegetables to local pre-schools and teaching the children how they can create their own gardens. F.E.A.S.T. hopes to encourage students and the community at large that maintaining sustainable organic gardens is fun and easy. Members of the surrounding community have inquired if they can purchase F.E.A.S.T. vegetables.
“We always get requests from people to sell them our produce. It’s really in high demand and it’s a possibility,” co-president Giulia Pasciuto (junior) said.
Although the garden is well and thriving now, starting this project came with a series of difficulties. Chandler faced problems with funding and dealt with finding a suitable location for the garden. The dry and arid peak of Mt. Fiji almost became the home of the garden before the UEPI became its home.
The garden provides a fun and safe place for community members to relax. Many students are attracted to the garden out of nostalgia of home. “I grew up on a ranch and I really missed it,” Will Suh (junior) said.
The F.E.A.S.T. garden also provides a great environment for students wishing to pursue the Urban and Environmental Policy major. The garden gives students an opportunity to further explore the different elements of the major.
“I had a huge garden back at home and I was going to miss it. I love the fact that we can grow our own food on campus,” Annie Ewbank (first-year), a potential Urban and Environmental Policy major, said.
The F.E.A.S.T. blog can be found at http://occidental-feast.blogspot.com/.
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