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Vassar’s Farm Project Supplies Campus
Vassar’s Campus Dining has made a concerted effort in recent years to serve organic and local foods to students, but this year they’re going very local — right across the street, in fact. After a 50-year hiatus, Campus Dining is working with the Poughkeepsie Farm Project to serve vegetables grown on Vassar Farm at ACDC and the Retreat. “We bought 565 pounds of butternut squash and 500 pounds of potatoes from the Poughkeepsie Farm Project yesterday,” said Director of Marketing and Sustainability for Campus Dining Ken Oldehoff on December 16. The Poughkeepsie Farm Project is a non-profit organization that works toward a just and sustainable food system in the Mid-Hudson Valley. It operates a member-supported garden on the Vassar Farm (located at the intersection of Raymond and Hooker Avenues), a 500-acre tract of land that grows over seven acres of vegetables. They donate over 16,000 pounds of produce each season to local soup kitchens and shelters. It is also a site for ecological research and hiking, biking, and nature exploration by Vassar faculty and students as well as members of the local community. It is also the site of rugby games and a pick-your-own-produce organization.