Collegiate Times

Other items that Farms and Fields is planning to offer are ice cream, milk and yogurt from Homestead Creamery, a local creamery located outside of Roanoke. Deet’s Place and West End Market currently offer its ice cream.

Farms and Fields’ main produce supplier is Produce Source Partners located in Roanoke. It also uses products from the Roanoke division of U.S. Food Services. But Farms and Fields does not rely on them for produce because U.S. Food Services isn’t used to working with local farmers.

The shop receives the rest of its produce from the SFC’s own one-acre garden. The garden is grown on Kentland Farm, which is land owned by Tech and belongs to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. It is not a certified organic farm, however, but it uses organic practices and is sustainable.

“We do everything completely free of pesticides and chemicals,” Span said. “It was just to be a demonstration of how organic growing is possible.”

The garden started off growing only herbs, and then vegetables. They grew products throughout the summer and into the fall. The SFC plans to begin planting in the next couple months in excess.

“We’re going to be doing a lot more than we did this past year because we’ve already gotten the soil ready,” Span said.

Budowle explains that they determine how much of each crop is needed. The garden then supplies all the produce that is used by Farms and Fields. The Office of Sustainability is also looking for ways to better preserve products from the growing season into the winter, such as freezing and canning, although nothing is finalized yet.

Tech as a whole is making other efforts to become more sustainable. This past year, Tech started a contract with Poplar Manor Enterprises in Riner, Va., to start composting.

“That’s a huge step especially because we have 30,000 students here, and for them to take an initiative like composting, and recycling, and food diversion, which is what they’re starting now at Owens Food Court and Au Bon Pain, that’s great,” Span said.

Budowle hopes to see more venues like Farms and Fields at Tech in the future and also to see of the dining operations dedicated to sustainability.

“I think that that’s our ultimate goal: to incorporate sustainable foods and sustainable practices across the dining centers all over campus,” Budowle said. “Again, it’s a process that will be an ongoing one. I hope to see all local products there at some point.”

Dulys, who also works for a national organization called the Real Food Challenge, agreed that sustainability should be large priority for the future.

“On a personal level, obviously food sustainability issues and local foods are dear to me,” Dulys said. “So I hope to see local, sustainable and organic food in every dining hall, in every venue and not just in one place so that it is truly integrated in the university system, and there’s more food responsibility all around.”

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A version of this article appeared in the Mar 18 issue of the Collegiate Times.