Cultivating a Common Ground

Published April 1, 2008

By Hillary Jane Archer

Did you know that there is a UVM student run farm eager to nourish the campus with its delicious delights of local produce, flowers, herbs, and all welcoming agricultural workshop opportunities? It’s called Common Ground Farm, and is probably one of the unintentionally best-kept secrets of UVM that remains a secret no more.

If you are tired of falling victim to the evils of Sodexho, poor nutrition from campus meals, and tomatoes with no flavor then perhaps this is even better news for you: the food grown at the student run farm is for students! Although they may not be able to fight off the evils of the modern world, they can definitely alleviate some of the pain with some hearty harvest.

Common Ground is a not-for-profit club recognized by UVM’s SGA. The farm is organized and run by students using the Community Supported (CSA) model. Club members work together toward common goals, which include providing students with hands-on education in growing organic vegetables on a commercial scale. Students gain experience in vegetable culture, harvest, crop scheduling, personnel management, and produce distribution. They also create a positive link between UVM and the greater Burlington Community (50% of the produce goes to local emergency food providers, such as the Chittenden County Emergency Food Shelf and the Burlington Salvation Army).

A huge Common Ground focus for the past month has been planning for the 2008 season. So far, they have collaborated with Food Salvage to be able to provide them produce for their salads and other meals so that they can spend more money on other healthy food for their weekly dinners. They have met with Feel Good and established a deal to sell them produce next fall for most of their sandwiches, including the new “Common Grounder.” A plan to enact a vision for the farm to collaborate with Plant and Soil Science and other CALS classes is in the works. Most exciting is their completed seed order with highlights that include around 30 tomato varieties and other fall-ready produce that will be featured in campus farm stands and the CALS Harvest Festival.

Happen to be a movie lover? Well, they just started a Friday afternoon movie/lecture series. And, Dining Services agreed to buy 5 CSA shares from the farm for their seven orientation sessions and also for the featured dish in the Waterman Manor. This is good news because it means that everyone in the class of 2012 will know what Common Ground is.

In case you haven’t picked up on it yet, there are so many ways to get involved in Common Ground. Feel free to join their LISTSERV or just stay tuned for some upcoming events that will definitely be worth your while.

To get involved, please contact Kate E. Turcotte at kturcott (at) uvm (dot) edu or visit the Common Ground Blog at http://cgsref.blog.uvm.edu/ for more information.

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