On Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the second floor of the Saint Mary’s Student Center, students gathered to paint signs for the sustainable farm. The sustainable farm focuses on eco-friendly initiatives on campus and supports the community by providing fresh food for families in the South Bend area.
Volunteers were instructed to paint green posts that will be staked into the ground to indicate where the ripe produce, vegetables and fruit are located. In the past, the farm has had issues with people picking the wrong produce, so the signs will help make it easier to give out directions when people visit the farm.
“We are painting signs so people will know what’s ripe and what’s not on the farm. It’s so it will be easier every time … we have U-Pick so people will know what’s ready,” event organizer Mary O’Connell said. O’Connell is also the care for creation coordinator for the sustainable farm.
O’Connell explained that the sustainable farm works with the food waste fighters and the farm team to convert leftover dining hall food into compost that is used during planting season in the spring.
“The other part of it is that we grow food that we then donate to the South Bend community, so we work with Pastor Carrie who runs a non-profit called For the Good. We work with her a lot to make sure that the best produce that we picked that morning will then go to the families that she serves which I believe it’s 20 to 30 families a week,” O’Connell said.
Service Saturdays, which include events like painting posts for the sustainable farm, are events that are usually held with the Center for Faith, Action and Ministry (CFAM) to gather volunteers to help with projects in the community.
“Service Saturdays are something that usually the sustainability team organizes. A lot of them are going to be farm work that we do, but while it’s winter and cold outside, we wanted to do some projects that would take just the sustainability team forever to do,” O’Connell said. “We know if we even get just five or 10 volunteers to help us paint signs it’ll go a lot quicker. It’s a great way to get to know people who might volunteer with us in the future.”
Volunteers who attend also help out with other events that the sustainable farm holds. The events offer opportunities for students to help the community and spend time with friends while doing it.
“I honestly really enjoy service work. I enjoy service work with the Saint Mary’s community specifically because it’s kind of a tight-knit, good group of people who are here for the right reasons. It gives you a sense of purpose in doing something in that regard,” senior Annemarie Edmund said.
The farm’s main goals will not only help Saint Mary’s but also the community surrounding it. Students like Edmund have been seeing the program’s growth since their first year at school and have been supportive of the steps the farm has taken to be part of sustainable solutions.
“I think in general it’s important for all of us to live more sustainably to kind of be stewards of the planet. I think the sustainable farm is very aware of that,” Edmund said. “I think they are actively trying to be part of the solution. I’m also really excited about the goals [of] eventually providing food for the dining hall and making the Saint Mary’s community as a whole sustainable.”
There will be an upcoming Service Saturday event on March 2 beginning at 11:30 a.m. The event will take place either inside or outside depending on weather conditions.
