UW Farm 2018 - 2019 Impact Report
As part of my Senior Capstone, I developed an Impact Report for the UW Farm along with five other Public Health - Global Health seniors. The objective of the report was to assess usership of the farm, quantify and analyze the pounds of food produced by the farm, and collect data to inform how the farm can better serve its stakeholders. The UW Farm has five stakeholders: Housing and Food Services (HFS), the UW Food Pantry, the Intellectual House, the Community Supported Agriculture Program, and Academics. In completing this report, I compiled and analyzed the data for HFS, and authored the HFS written portion of the report. In doing so, I designed a survey to measure stakeholder impact of the UW Farm - HFS partnership, and compiled, organized, and analyzed the 2018 and 2019 HFS data to determine past and present impact.
Through the completion of my Senior Capstone as a UW Farm Intern, I gained hands-on experience in farming and harvesting produce, while also learning about the prevalence of food insecurity across campus and the adverse health-effects of food insecurity.
To the right is an infographic that includes the key takeaways of the report. Below, is the introduction, conclusion, and HFS sections of the 2018 - 2019 Impact Report. Coming Soon: Full Report found on the UW Farm Website. |
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What is the UW Farm?
The UW Farm is a student-run organization on campus that was established to grow and supply produce for the Housing and Food Services (HFS), UW Food Pantry, and individual households utilising the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model. The UW Farm also provides growing space and resources for the Intellectual House (The Wǝ ǝb altx ) to support food sovereignty among students who are citizens of the first nations of the land on which we live. The mission of the UW Farm is as follows:
“Our mission is to be the campus center for the practice and study of urban agriculture and sustainability, and an educational, community-oriented resource for people who want to learn about building productive and sustainable urban landscapes.”
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In addition to production, the Farm hosts academic laboratory courses, course field trips and tours, and academic service learners.1 Data on academic usership has been collected in previous years, but has not been consistently compiled or analyzed from year to year. Therefore, a clear picture of trends in academic usership has yet to be articulated. Academic usership of the farm continues to rise, placing greater workload on the Farm Manager to coordinate both production and academic use.
UW Farm Impact Report:
Introduction and Conclusion |
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UW Farm Impact Report:
Housing and Food Services (HFS) |