Straight from the farm

Jess Nall and Clayton Vertrees

Staff writers

Freshly grown lettuce, beets, collard greens and many other kinds of produce will soon highlight Food Services menus with the cultivation of Murray State's Mabel G. and J. Stanley Pullen Farm.

Forming a partnership

Pat Williams, horticulture operational manager for Pullen Farm, said Food Services and the Murray State Agriculture department's work together started when Richard Fritz, Food Services director, purchased chrysanthemums from Pullen Farm in October 2007. While buying flowers from Pullen Farm, Williams said he and Fritz discussed the process of formally starting an in-house composting system.

"We have always composted materials gathered from places like our greenhouse, but it wasn't until the new structure that we started officially composting with a better and easier setup," Williams said. "Our long-term goal is to keep producing more and more and I think the larger we grow the more land we will devote for growing for the Food Services department. Now, we are growing things that we can get a small harvest off of like zucchinis, beans, different types of lettuces and turnips."

Williams said the system, resulting from his and Fritz's discussion, utilizes vendors across campus to supply raw fruit rinds or peels, vegetable trimmings and even coffee bits otherwise unused by University cooks. Once collected, student worker Justin Van Horne transports the scraps to Pullen Farm's compost system to add to already decomposing waste.

"Once in the soil, the compost releases nutrients that were held in the plants' cell structures into the ground," Williams said. "At the same time, as the compost loses cell structure, it opens up space in the soil, allowing for better drainage, root growth, and allows crops to grow quicker. We are basically dealing with raw fruits and vegetable leftovers because once the food is cooked, it loses its cell structure and a lot of the nutrients that come out in the compost."

Increasing awareness

The Murray Environmental Student Society is working in conjunction with Food Services on projects reducing waste, making facilities more energy efficient and cutting cost.

Molly Runyon, junior from St. James, Mo., and MESS president, said her organization works on tasks that investigate, research and formulate ideas on how to make Murray State a more environmentally conscious campus.

"This summer we have been working with Food Services to produce Pullen Farm," Runyon said. "We want to have an all natural garden to supply the campus with produce. There are no pesticides used and the fact that produce would no longer have to be shipped will cut down on expenses."

MESS is providing volunteers to plant and maintain the garden along with Food Services employees.

Mike Gowen, lecturer in the department of Wellness and Therapeutic Science and MESS adviser said MESS has had a tremendous influence on the project.

"MESS has produced man power and has gotten the program off the ground. It would have been difficult for the University to get that project going without the help of volunteers."

According to Williams, there is currently one student worker employed at the farm and approximately 12 volunteers provided by MESS.

"We are currently growing lettuces, spinach, radishes, carrots, turnips, turnip greens, peas and beans and kohlrabi," Williams said. "As we become more successful at composting waste from Food Services, we will start cultivating more land to be used to go toward produce."

Currently, there are 200 square feet of space used to grow vegetables for campus dining facilities. Williams said the amount of space wasn't enough to feed students for a long amount of time, but it's a good start.

According to Runyon, MESS started a composting project this summer which will reduce waste and provide fertilizer for the farm.

"Composting is taking food waste and putting it in different layers that will help food decompose faster," Runyon said. "Winslow's compost is added to the garden plot on the farm to fertilize it. Some seeds have already been planted so we can start supplying the dining facilities with produce."

The purpose of MESS is to raise awareness and promote activism to solve environmental issues on campus, the community and all over the world. The organization works with the center for environmental education to support and implement many of the changes the campus is experiencing this year.

"We worked with Food Services in their switch to bio-degradable products and we focus on recycling on campus and in the community," Runyon said. "We want to improve the recycling system and add more varieties of materials that are able to be recycled. A lot of people don't know about the organization or what they can contribute."

Making a difference

Following an analysis of campus waste habits by Food Services, the University saw new possibilities to not only reduce unused food remains but also encourage production.

The convenience of the University's compost system comes from the rural environment surrounding Murray State, something Fritz said works perfectly with ambitions to further educate students on environmental methods of food production.

"Agriculture is a big department on Murray State, so this is an opportunity to partner with a department that impacts a lot of students," Fritz said. "For students who will pay attention or who are interested, here is an opportunity to get some additional education built into their already paid tuition."

While the compost program originated between the agriculture department and Food Services, Fritz said partnerships with Racer Hospitality, Food Services, the equestrian department and MESS provide aid toward the natural foods program.

Along with additional fertilizer from University horses, Fritz said Pullen Farms also received help from MESS in the gardens producing vegetables such as lettuce and turnips for use in Murray State campus dining facilities such as Winslow DIning Hall.

"Through composting, we are actually able to make nice, organic soil with a thick, earthy smell," Fritz said. "We turned out our first batch - a good amount of dirt - which was then tilled into a garden where students from MESS planted a garden which included lettuce plants."

Jess Nall can be reached at jessica. nall@murrystate.edu.

Clayton Vertrees can be reached at james.vertrees@murraystate.edu.