Fresh Vegetables, Herbs Delivered Weekly to Campus Community
UMass Lowell graduate student Oladimeji “Jimmy” Akinlawon takes a look at the free produce delivered to him through UMass Lowell’s new Community-Supported Agriculture program.
08/22/2018
Contact: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu and Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
LOWELL, Mass. – A UMass Lowell pilot program that promotes community-supported agriculture is growing enthusiasm for locally harvested herbs and vegetables.
Each week this summer, blue plastic bins filled with organic foods such as squash, scallions, green beans, carrots and kale are making their way from local farms to the desks of UMass Lowell students, faculty and staff, thanks to a partnership between the university and Lowell-based Mill City Grows. The urban farm program was co-founded by UMass Lowell graduate Lydia Sisson.
“Everyone in the office comes by to take a look. They love to see what’s inside,” said Stacey Felix, a UMass Lowell employee who volunteered to participate in the 20-week program, which runs through October.
The initiative’s goals are to set the table for a long-term community-supported agriculture (CSA) program and to provide research opportunities in urban agriculture and sustainable food systems, according to UMass Lowell Director of Sustainability Ruairi O’Mahony.
“This pilot venture gives us the ability to design and implement a self-sustaining CSA program at UMass Lowell that supports increased access to healthy, organic produce,” he said.
The program is also serving as a research tool for faculty in UMass Lowell’s Center for Population Health and Center for Public Opinion. In exchange for their free, midweek deliveries of fresh herbs and vegetables, the volunteers complete weekly online surveys on the foods they like (and don’t like) and how the program influences their dietary habits.
The survey information is being used in a research project led by UMass Lowell professors John Cluverius and Sabrina Noel. Cluverius, who teaches political science, is associate director of the Center for Public Opinion. Noel is a member of the university’s Center for Population Health and teaches biomedical and nutritional sciences. Together, they hope to learn about the impact of the CSA on participants’ overall health and to develop best practices for establishing and managing a university-based CSA.
“While there are other universities that are organizing CSAs for members of their campus, this is the only one organized around urban agriculture and an incredible opportunity to fuse research and service, while also benefiting the university community,” Cluverius said.
Most of the produce used in the pilot program comes from Mill City Grows’ 4-acre farm about 2 miles west of UMass Lowell, but many of the crops harvested there started as seedlings last spring in the university’s Urban Agriculture Greenhouse, located on East Campus. The new, 1,800-square-foot greenhouse, constructed with the support of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, opened last fall, replacing a smaller version.
“That’s one of the great benefits of having the greenhouse; it allows Mill City Grows to start the growing season earlier and extend it further into the fall,” O’Mahony said.
Since some program participants may not know Swiss chard from Swiss cheese, organizers include laminated recipe cards in the bins each week and are creating a website that includes suggested recipes.
Oladimeji “Jimmy” Akinlawon of Lowell, a UMass Lowell research assistant pursuing his master’s degree in public health, admits he didn’t know much about cooking vegetables before taking part in the pilot program. Now, he’s hooked.
“There was a vegetable soup I made that was so wonderful. I was surprised,” Akinlawon said, noting the traditional dishes of his native country, Nigeria, don’t include a lot of veggies. “Now, I’m really seeing why you should mix more vegetables with your diet.”
UMass Lowell is a national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community. The university offers its more than 18,000 students bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences and social sciences. UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be ready for work, for life and for all the world offers. www.uml.edu