As EMU continues to adapt to all of the restrictions caused by COVID-19, one staple of this community has remained constant: SFI market. Every Thursday at 5:00 p.m., students can gather on Thomas Plaza to pick up fresh produce for free—anything from tomatoes and eggs to rhubarb and rosemary. 

SFI, or Sustainable Food Initiative, is a club focused on helping those in need while also promoting sustainability. They partner with community organizations, churches, VMRC, the EMU dining hall, and other clubs and organizations on campus to put sustainable initiatives in place and give back to the community. 

Sophomore and SFI co-president Grace Harder believes wholeheartedly in this mission. “I find a lot of value in the time I get to spend outdoors, playing in the dirt and working with plants,” Harder said. “It means a lot to me to know how the food that I eat is grown. I love learning how to live in the world more sustainably through growing … food, and I love being able to share that produce with the EMU community.” 

The surrounding EMU community also plays a really important part by making use of the food SFI grows, because by eating SFI’s produce, it helps support equitable food production and food education.”

Due to COVID-19, many of SFI’s in-person activities had to be cancelled, but SFI’s other co-president, sophomore Olivia Hazelton is hopeful about alternate plans. “Before COVID-19 our plans mostly involved get-togethers and demonstrations, like making kombucha or sourdough, which we can’t do, but recently we talked a lot more about going the educational route about food justice,” Hazelton said. “[This includes addressing] racism in our food systems, educating ourselves, and providing that to the EMU community.” Hazelton said that they might read books as a club and explore other educational mediums.

One SFI service that directly impacts EMU students is the SFI garden (and chicken coop), which provides free produce to students who may have 60-block meal plans, no meal plans, or just to anyone who wants some fresh food. The pandemic has caused restrictions on EMU’s food services, but SFI has been able to continue providing food full force.

Senior Tessa Waidelich has been utilizing SFI since last year when she lived in Parkwoods. Now, she lives in Mt. Clinton apartments and greatly appreciates her weekly supply of fresh produce. The biggest draw for Waidelich is the financial help SFI provides. “As we all know, produce is expensive—[SFI] has really cut down on our shopping bill because we don’t have a meal plan now,” she said. Highlights for her are SFI’s selection of greens, cherry tomatoes, and fun extras like popcorn.

While community and fun are big parts of SFI, their core mission is environmental justice, and the pandemic is not stopping them. The injustice of the food industry, Hazelton said, is shocking and very evident. “The purpose behind [SFI] is to increase justice within the food systems by taking them into our own hands,” she said. SFI’s goal is to combat that, starting here.