EMU’s Sustainable Food Initiative (SFI) provides students with free locally grown food throughout the winter months. Third-year Jake Meyers appreciates “knowing where [his] food comes from.” He stated, “Fresh food is always good.”

Second-year Grace Harder explained, “SFI is a student-run sustainability initiative and food justice initiative. We just want to raise awareness to students on campus about the issue of food justice and get people more involved and more aware of how food is raised and produced and how those systems work in this nation and around the world.” 

Second-year Olivia Hazelton added, “Our goal is mainly to provide local fresh food to students here and in that, do some work in replacing harmful systems.”

Meyers honed in on one of SFI’s main initiatives: the SFI Market. “The produce that is harvested from the gardens is taken to the markets and is available to the students to come and get some,” Meyers said. The SFI Market is held in front of Lehman Auditorium every Wednesday at 5 p.m. EMU students are welcome to come and benefit from the free food! 

Meyers loves using the produce from the SFI Market to cook meals now that he no longer has a full meal plan. “I make this squash curry. It is typically with butternut squash, but last year there was a big crookneck squash and that worked just as well. That’s probably one of my favorite meals to make.” 

The club gained fresh leadership this year as Hazelton and Harder stepped up as SFI’s new co-presidents. Hazelton said, “I came my first semester just because I was looking for something to do and ways to connect with people. Then, I got more interested in it and enjoyed learning about food and food systems.” 

Harder also got involved with the club during her first year at EMU. Harder worked in the garden over the summer of 2020, and said she is now “employed as a garden worker during the semester.” 

Meyers recalled helping to rototill the garden during his first year in the club. “As a member of the club, most of the opportunities are related to working in the garden or helping to take care of the chickens,” Meyers said. 

Hazelton said, “I do love going to the fig trees and picking some fresh figs– that’s one of my favorite things to do.” 

Depending on the time of year, SFI has a wide variety of food items available. Harder said, “In the fall we had so much!” She listed some of the produce harvested during the fall, including “cucumbers, summer squash, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, various greens, beets, radishes, corn, winter squash, and lots and lots of tomatoes.” Outside of harvest season, SFI offers canned goods, such as pickles and pears, as well as frozen items, such as tomato sauce, blackberries, green beans, and pear sauce. SFI’s chickens produce eggs to source the market. Also, milk sourced from local farmers is sometimes available. 
The club is open to anyone who wants to join. Hazelton and Harder hope to expand the club within the coming years to be even more inclusive and welcoming. Students interested in joining SFI can email Hazelton at olivia.hazelton@emu.edu or Harder at grace.harder@emu.edu for more information.