A little over a month ago we hosted a wonderful group of Duke students for a “farm to fork” alternative spring break.  The students, a group of about 14 wild, intelligent souls, joined us  on a journey through the U.S. food chain.  We took the students to farms, had guest lecturers talk to the group about the issues facing our current day food system, and discussed how we as students and consumers can make a difference in making our food system more just for all.  We literally took the journey from farm to fork and beyond.  In an effort to capture some of the wonderful moments we shared with these students along the farm to fork journey, we assembled a short photo essay.

Day 1:  The Farm

  On the first morning we shopped at the Durham Farmers’ Market, where we bought all our veggies for our meals.  In keeping with the theme of supporting a sustainable, local food economy, all our veggies were bought from local farms.

Later, we ate lunch at the Duke Campus Farm and worked into the late afternoon hours planting, hauling mushroom logs, and clearing pathways.

On the night of Day 1 we had three guest lecturers come and speak, James Robinson with the Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI), a farmer advocate group, Brock Philips, a farmer with Coon Rock Farm, and Lee Miller, a former Duke Campus Farm intern and current agricultural policy researcher.  The speakers addressed the many issues that smaller scale, local farms in the area face.

And of course… we ate a lot of good food for dinner.  Every meal of the day was a feast, cooked by the students with local veggies.

Day 2:  More Farms, Carrot Jam, and Goats

On the second day we started off the day making carrot jam from some of the carrots we bought at market.  Knowing how to cook, preserve food, and make jam are all ways we can learn to better value the food we eat, as well as our food system.

And then… we went to a goat farm, learned about how farmers process value-added products, such as goat cheese, and get them to market.  And of course, there were a few baby goats named in the process.

Day 3: The Beginning, the Middle, and the End of the Food Chain and Beyond

On the last day we volunteered with Durham’s Meals on Wheels program.  This particular morning we focused our conversations around food access and food justice.

Later in the day we took at tour of Eastern Carolina Organics’ (ECO) facility.  ECO is an aggregator and distributor of organic local foods.  Aggregators and distributors are very important in an alternative food economy.  They help farmers sell their products beyond the farmers’ market and into grocery stores, restaurants, etc.  

At the end of the day we had a delicious feast and heard from Dr. Mary Eubanks from Duke’s Biology Department.  Dr. Eubanks is a corn breeder, and has done amazing research on non-GMO corn hybrids.

At the end of the last day we all said adieu.  It was hard saying goodbye to such a wonderful group of students, but they all promised us they would come visit us at the farm.

Since March we have seen a few of the students visit the farm and we have seen several others getting involved in Duke’s food scene on campus.  We are genuinely hopeful that these bright young minds will go out in the world and do great things to change our food system into a system that is more just for all, both at Duke and beyond.  Thank you to all the wonderful students of Duke Food Project’s ASB 2013.  May your future journeys, wherever they take you, be filled with fun adventures and delicious food!

Position: Duke Campus Farm Intern
Term: Summer, May 15 – Aug 10
Hours: 20/week
Pay: $10/hr

Responsibilities:
- Daily care for crops including watering, weeding, planting, harvesting, washing, packing and delivering crops
- CSA and farmers’ market sales
- Leading and facilitating community workdays
- Community outreach projects including giving tours, planning and facilitating educational workshops
- Working as part of a team to expand the operations and reach of the farm

Requirements:
- Duke rising sophomore, junior, senior or graduate students.
- Federal work-study preferred but not required
- Ability to provide personal transportation to the farm preferred
- Flexibility, the ability to work independently and with others.
- Self-starter and creative problem solver.
- Possession of good communication and interpersonal skills.
- This is a physically active and demanding job, the ability to lift and carry 50 lbs is a plus.

Application:
If you are interested in applying, please email emily.sloss@duke.edu with the subject line “summer internship” for more information.

Summer 2013 CSA – Sign up today!
Last summer we launched our first ever CSA in the months of May and August and this year we’re offering a full summer subscription. Participants can sign up for one month (May, June, July or August) or can sign up for all 4 months at a discounted price. Each week you’ll receive a couple-sized box with approximately $20 worth of produce. Pick up is at the Duke Gardens every Tuesday from 4-6pm. See below for pricing and what you can expect to find each month in your box.  The Duke Campus Farm is not certified organic, but uses all natural practices including no chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides, no GMO seed, and strives to use as few off farm inputs as possible.

Sign up here. 

May – 4 weeks – $80
salad mix, strawberries, kale, rainbow chard, snap peas, radishes, beets, salad turnips, carrots, bac choi, broccoli rabe, greens and herbs

June – 4 weeks – $80
cucumbers, snap peas, salad mix, mustard greens, beets, rainbow chard, kale, beets, potatoes, onions, garlic and herbs

July – 5 weeks – $100
cucumbers, corn, eggplant, tomatoes, green beans, onions, garlic, rainbow chard, okra, basil

August – 4 weeks – $80
tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, okra, watermelon, musk melon and herbs

Full summer subscription $300 (two weeks free!)

Our View on Community Supported Agriculture
We believe in the traditional community supported agriculture system where the consumer shares in the risk and reward of the farm by paying in advance for a “share” of our harvest. Crops that do well will be abundant in the share, crops that do less well will be less abundant. We will never buy produce from other farms or wholesale distributers to fill the boxes each week (a common tactic for some local farms). Instead, you are getting a true reflection of what we’re producing on our farm.

Each week a “what you can expect” email is sent out giving our best estimate of what members will get in their box the next day. We don’t harvest until the day of delivery in order to give you the freshest produce possible and sometimes what we find in the field on Tuesday is not what we expected to on Monday. Sometimes there are bug infestations or crop failures. Sometimes there are crop bumpers. And that’s what makes being a part of a CSA so much fun – it’s always a little bit of a surprise what you’re going to get each week.

In 2011, we hosted our first Alternative Spring Break with great success and we’re bringing it back this year. During this year’s experiential break, we will explore local agriculture, food processing and distribution, and consumer issues related to food including access, nutrition, labeling, and more. We’ll give you some ground-level context for system-wide food issues by visiting production and distribution sites, cooking together with local food, and sharing conversations with guests and experts who work in a variety of fields.

The break is hosted by the Duke Food Project which is comprised of the Duke Campus Farm and the Duke Community Garden, both of which produce food and contribute to food education at Duke and beyond. All Duke undergrad and graduate students are eligible to apply. Our 3-day ASB experience will take place March 9th-11th. Participants will sleep in their dorms/apartments, and we will gather at the Smart Home every day for meals and programming. The cost for this experience, including all meals and snacks, site visits, and transportation, is $60. If this fee prohibits you from applying, please let us know.

We’re happy to announce the growth of our farm family to include a one-year fellowship position for a recent graduate to support the daily operations and expansion of the Duke Campus Farm. The fellowship position is made possible by a grant from the Duke Endowment.  All four Endowment schools (Duke, Furman, Johnson C. Smith and Davidson) will use their grant money to promote sustainable food systems in the Carolinas.

Each of the sister schools have a unique approach for the implementation of the grant. Duke’s grant will go towards funding the one-year fellowship as well as educational site improvements, including demonstration gardens, permanent pathways and outdoor classroom space.

Without any further ado, meet Sarah Parsons, our new Farm Fellow.

Sarah is a recent graduate from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, where she received a Masters in Environmental Management in 2012.  In her studies at Duke she focused on food justice and sustainable landscaping.  Sarah did her master’s project on “An Evaluation of the Food Desert Definition in Durham, NC,” where she mapped food deserts in Durham and reassessed the parameters of food deserts.  Sarah also recently finished working with Sarah P. Duke Gardens to get one of their new garden installments SITES certified.  While at the Nicholas School Sarah was a leader of Farmhand, a graduate student group on campus, which hosts workdays at local farms in the area in an effort to lend small farmers a helping “farmhand.” Sarah graduated from Emory University with a B.A. in Environmental Science.  She is from Stockbridge, Georgia.

Come meet her, and her adorable puppy Cora (pictured above), at a farm workday!

Could it be? Is it true? Yes, my friends it is true. The Duke Campus Farm is finally getting an outhouse! Be it known that on this eighth month of the year 2012 the Duke Campus Farm outhouse is officially under construction and soon to be a reality. No more peeing in the woods my friends. Although, I know some of you liked it. For some the wood pee was a liberating experience, a feeling of one with nature if you will. For others, however, it was not as liberating… maybe even a little terrifying. Well now you don’t have to worry. We got you covered, whatever your preference. So come out to the farm and witness this DCF milestone. It’s quite exciting.

Recently, manager Emily and I drove over to Pittsboro to join NC Extension Agent Debbie Roos’ weekly tour of the Chatham Marketplace “Pollinator Paradise” garden. We arrived early and decided to peek at the student farm at the Chatham County branch of Central Carolina Community College. Farm manager Hilary noticed us wandering around, and the three of us fell into conversation about managing student farms (and managing their many people- and plant-related challenges!) Hillary invited us to observe her farm’s buildings and structures– refrigeration units, CSA prep station, storage barn, office, and more. We hope to have our own soon at DCF!

Hil was also gracious enough to talk us through the college’s extensive sustainable ag. curriculum. Through classes focused on everything from crop production to chicken care, students have built the farm from the ground up. We absolutely loved it!Emily and I walked away inspired by the program and full of new ideas for our own operation — our conversation with Hilary was a good reminder that the DCF plays a crucial role in Duke students’ immersion in food issues, whether or not a formal academic program exists (yet!) to underlie student interest.

We were so grateful for Hilary’s time and interest in our farm. She genuinely cared about our unique story and struggles, and asked questions that helped us think through both the production and educational sides of the Duke Campus Farm. We can’t wait to return the favor, and we hope to see her and the CC farm crew in Durham soon!

After remembering the reason we went to Pittsboro, Emily and I hopped over to the Pollinator Garden at the Chatham Marketplace co-op. Since getting into farm and garden issues in North Carolina, I have heard Debbie Roos’ name come up in many conversations. After learning from her first-hand, I now understand why she is so well-known for her expertise. This woman knows it all, from the Latin names of every single plant in the Marketplace’s extensive garden to the cures for every possible plant disease or conundrum. Debbie and this garden gave us great ideas for our own flower and herb demonstration garden at the DCF (breaking ground soon!)

I walked away from the garden beyond impressed, and couldn’t more highly recommend Debbie’s free Wednesday evening tour. Bring your questions, no matter how obscure, because she most definitely has answers!

All in all, the trip to Pittsboro was wonderful for the conversations and education it offered. The town has much to teach us about sustainable agriculture and landscaping. Thanks, Pittsboro friends!

The lull between spring and summer crops is about to end, and with it comes an explosion of growth: tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, beans, melons, corn, cucumbers, okra… We celebrated the first arrivals of our sungold cherry tomatoes at the volunteer workday this past Sunday, and are awaiting the rest of our harvest. Here are some picture to get y’all just as pumped as we are.

Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

Farm Family with First Tomatoes

Okra (I promise)

Okra (I told ya)

Eggplant!

Cukes

Corn

Pole bean flower

Orangelo Watermelon

Our first purple bean!

:)