New York university expands farm-to-campus food program

Nov. 11—SUNY Oswego’s decade-old, farm-to-campus food program has put it in the company of three other campuses that will work toward promoting locally grown vegetables and the sustainability of healthy, local foods at all SUNY institutions.

The American Farmland Trust, an organization seeking to expand market competitiveness for local farmers, recently won a $99,427 federal grant to work with Oswego, New Paltz, Oneonta and the University at Albany to increase the use of fresh, frozen and processed vegetables raised by New York farmers as part of a pilot program that eventually would target all colleges and universities statewide.

Glenda Neff, who works for the AFT in Auburn, said part of the pilot would include a detailed look at Oswego’s farm-to-campus program to investigate areas of success as well as potential for gains. Another initiative would involve students paid as interns to document the project and help develop a promotional program to raise student awareness of the benefits of locally grown foods.