Rachel Deloughery, Emma Kiley, Sustainability columnists
You’re sitting in your mid-morning lecture when your stomach starts growling. If the first thought that pops into your head is “Some beet greens would totally hit the spot right now”, the people at Campus Action on Food (CAF) are trying to make your lunch dreams come true. A working group of the Nova Scotia Public Interest Research Group (NSPIRG), CAF is focused on changing the landscape of food on campus.
The container garden tucked behind the Student Union building on a rectangle of grassy ground is the pilot project for CAF’s Edible Campus initiative. The containers, built largely from recycled and reclaimed materials, make it possible to grow food on concrete, part of the group’s intention for the project. “There are so many unused concrete spaces on campus,” points out Kayleigh MacGregor-Bales, a member of CAF and participant in the Edible Campus project.“We thought it would be great to have things growing there instead.”
The initiative has its roots in the Edible Schoolyard project developed in the mid-90’s by chef Alice Waters at a middle school in Berkley, California. The idea behind the movement was growing organic produce as a way to introduce healthy food choices, educate students, and enhance communities. In 2007 an academic research group at McGill’s School of Architecture teamed up with NGOs to launch an award-winning Edible Campus project in Montreal. The partnership has garnered extensive media coverage, and its success has inspired the creation of similar projects elsewhere in Canada, including the one here at Dalhousie.
As we sit on the grass with several members of CAF, they talk about some of the environmental, social, and aesthetic benefits of the project. They explain that container gardens are sinks for greenhouse gases; locally grown veggies also mean no packaging, and food travels fewer miles to reach your plate. The project’s organizers are enthusiastic about getting the community involved. They view the garden as a tool for teaching others about self-sufficiency, as well as how food production ties into broader environmental and social systems.
When we paid a visit to the garden Sonia Grant, another CAF member and
participant in the project, showed us the kale, beets, squash, tomatoes, chard, beans, and herbs that are currently thriving in the planters. However, it required more than a green thumb to get this project up and running. “It was five or six months from the time we first submitted our proposal to the Dal administration and Facilities Management before we finally got permission” says Grant, “There were a lot of obstacles put in our way.”
The University’s main concerns, as described by CAF, were about the location of the project, and its insurance coverage. They were told that the $2 million liability insurance held by NSPIRG was insufficient. At least $5 million in coverage would be required to protect against liability associated with eating any of the food that would be produced.
The original Edible Campus proposal put the containers in the wide paved expanse between the chemistry building and the Killam Library. However, CAF was told that location was “too visible” for the pilot project; the present site was given as an available alternative. According to Grant a compromise was only reached when they announced that, with or without administrative approval, they would go ahead with a launch involving local media and politicians.
“They agreed to increase NSPIRG’s coverage from $2 million to $5 million, if we agreed to use this location,” Grant explains.
The project is one of CAF’s initiatives in support of the food sovereignty they envision for Dal. They define food sovereignty as making sure that accessible, affordable, and diverse food choices are available to Dal’s student body. They want to see a campus where students have opportunities to get involved in their food chain and where cost is not a limiting factor when making lunchtime choices. Aaron Beales, another CAF member, emphasizes that the idea of shifting away from the current model, where food options on campus are monopolized by large corporations, is central to their vision.
With the success of the pilot project, CAF sees the Edible Campus expanding to other sites. In the long term they would love to see a student run food co-operative in the SUB, although they haven’t yet broached the idea with the Dalhousie Student Union.
The members of CAF we spoke to are excited about how this school year is shaping up, in part because of the positive relationship they’ve cultivated with the newly elected DSU council members. At the time of our visit, they were getting their hands dirty planting seeds for a fall harvest, as most of their summer crops have come to fruition. Anyone who wants to try out their green thumb, or otherwise get involved with CAF and the Edible Campus is invited to drop by their space behind the SUB Mondays at 4pm starting September 13th. Or contact them by email:campusactiononfood@gmail.com.
Spend an hour or two playing in the dirt and you could leave with a week’s supply of beets (or whatever happens to be in season)!
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