BY CASSIDEY KAVATHAS, NEWS EDITOR
The Farm to Table program allows students at St. Bonaventure University to learn more about themselves through a summer of service. This opportunity is made possible due to a partnership between the Franciscan Center for Social Concern and Canticle Farm, a 15-acre community supported farm. The program runs from June to August and highlights the production of food from cultivation to culinary.
“Farm to Table is both Canticle Farm and the Warming House,” said Walter Kinder, a sophomore mathematics major. “It’s not just volunteering at the Warming House for like an afternoon. You end up becoming a Warming House coordinator after a whole summer, 10 weeks, we work three to five days a week.”
The participants spend the morning working on the farm and the afternoon in the Warming House preparing a meal using some fresh produce that they harvested earlier. The Farm to Table experience is more than a summer job.
“Those kinds of things are about community building,” said Alice Miller Nation, the director of the FCSC. “I always try to do challenges by choice, like pushing myself out of my comfort zone a little bit and learning about some things that I just never even imagined doing.”
The program offers new opportunities to learn about things that students wouldn’t normally.
“I’ve learned so many useful skills during my time working there and made connections that I’ll probably keep for the rest of my life,” said Adam Burlingham, a senior environmental studies major. “It has been extremely beneficial in making myself a better person.”
Miller Nation sees this program as a great opportunity for self-growth and community through experiences that can’t be found anywhere else.
“My favorite thing about the program is just watching the students start to see themselves growing and what they learn about themselves,” said Miller Nation.
While many students may be intimidated to start working in this area, Burlington described his feelings on starting to work on a farm.
“Working can seem a little scary at first; especially if you’re like me and had practically no experience in working on a farm or soup kitchen. While it may take a while to learn the ropes, it is an amazing feeling,” said Burlingham. “It feels great watching a healthy plant grow or serving an amazing-tasting meal. You’ll learn so much about the world, our community and yourself just by communicating with guests at the Warming House. It is some of the most satisfying work I’ve ever done.”
This program costs about $10,000 to run and is primarily funded by Giving Tuesday.
“Giving Tuesday helps fund the program. That’s how we do it. That’s how we make it work,” said Miller Nation.
To help raise money and awareness for the Farm to Table program and other service programs on campus, the FCSC will host #GivingTuesdayatBonas, a one-day fundraising event on Tuesday, Nov. 30.
Across the United States, the Giving Tuesday movement is intended to be a way to encourage people to support their favorite non-profit causes as part of their holiday giving.
The community is invited to visit www.sbu.edu/GivingTuesdayatBonas now through Nov. 30 to learn more and to make a contribution.
kavathcj20@bonaventure.edu
