I wanted to share some awesome sustainable marketing campaigns that connects consumers to sustainable food sources. One of which is the UBC Farm, but interestingly I wanted to discuss UC Santa Cruz outreach activities that connects daily consumers, students, faculty members to its local food system.

UC Santa Cruz (UCSC) serves as an ideal reference institution for the University of British Columbia (UBC) in its quest for a sustainable, local food system. Both institutes share a similar context of having an organic farm located on campus facilitating the incorporation local organic food into their campus food systems.  UCSC  has established itself as “a national model for a growing movement called ‘farm-to-college’” (The Cultivar, 2006).  The farm-to-college movement “help farmers get more of the food dollar, benefit local economies, and give students access to locally produced, fresh food” (The Cultivar, 2006).  All five on campus student dining facilities at UCSC are now offering fresh and local produce every day of the week as a result of the relationship formed between local farms and the educational institute.

Critical to the success of UCSC’s food movement was the support and demand from students for local, organic food, sustainable food system.  The Food Systems Working Group (FSWG) comprised of students, faculty, staff, and community representatives, with the common goal for increasing food security and sustainability, came together to determine how this could best be accomplished. The education of students was one of two primary strategies the FSWG implemented to ensure their food movement’s ongoing success.  These outreach activities introduced at UCSC included (The Cultivar, 2006):

• local organic College Night dinners,
• facilitating the relationships between dining services staff and local farmers,
• organizing regional farm tours for students and organic taste tests at the college,
• bringing in student leaders from other campuses and guest speakers to advocate sustainable food system resource exchange and food sovereignty.

The FSWG emphasizes ongoing outreach and student education to maintain participation and support from both the students and the dining services for sustainable food.  The success of farm-to-college food movement at UCSC has served as a springboard for a statewide movement.   In October 2004 students launched UC Sustainable Foods Campaign of the California Student Sustainability Coalition to focus on developing all components of sustainable campus food systems.  However, the progress at UCSC is not finished, as the FSWG continues to strive for increased local, fresh, and sustainable food options available on campus.

Through our investigation into developing local food systems across North America, the most common barrier to success and the most challenging task was consumer education. Within the university context, this means promoting student and faculty awareness of the issues surrounding local food. The University of California, Berkley has had many successes in its journey to a more sustainable and locally reliant food shed through campus education campaigns.

UC Berkeley participates in three major arenas of local food education.  The first is a student group that visits farmers’ markets on weekends to buy locally sourced food and then sells that food on campus during the week at cost to other students. This brings the market to campus and creates exposure for local food and an opportunity to engage a wider range of students in the experience of eating locally. Berkeley also screens films that promote and educate on the local food movement. One such film that was viewed on campus recently called “FRESH” tells the story of the farmers, thinkers, and business people who have been driving the local food movement and why. Finally, media outreach is a very important part of sparking the interest in students and staff that may create a curiosity in local food. The different organizations at UC Berkley have been very visible in various media outlets in the area and have been successful in promoting their initiatives.

References

The Cultivar (2006). UC Santa Cruz makes the farm-to-college connection.  The Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. 24, 1-19.