Every Wednesday night, Spartacus Cafe transforms into The Farm at Kirk Douglas Hall. Locally harvested meals replace the coveted three- cheese panini, while mint and cucumber infused water substitutes for apple juice. Freshly picked flowers garnish each table, and a hand drawn chalkboard menu perches on the counter.
The Farm at Kirk Douglas Hall and the Green Cafe: Farm to Table course are a new initiative to bring more local, organic food onto the St. Lawrence Campus. Each Wednesday, students stagger hours between 1 p.m. and 10 p.m. to harvest and gather local food, prepare meals in the Cornell Cooperative Kitchen, and serve for The Farm. As environmental degradation continues to accelerate, locality concerning food consumption is becoming increasingly important. Green Cafe Course TA Georgia Grzywacz notes how “educating people (both customers and students) about the impact that their food practices have on the environment, which many people don’t know about, may have a significant impact, as people will become more aware of their consumption”. Luckily, at St. Lawrence, we are surrounded by a plethora of small farms willing to contribute to The Farm and its message of food consciousness. From St. Lawrence’s own Sustainability Program to the North Country Growing Cooperative: the connections run far and deep throughout the North Country.
The Farm is paired with a new Business in the Liberal Arts course at St. Lawrence dubbed Green Cafe: Farm to Table. Green Cafe is a class of 21, lead by a teaching group that includes Environmental Studies Professor Sara Ashpole, Sustainability Program Professor Sam Joseph, and local Big Spoon Chefs Will Trithart and Josh Taillon. The course also receives integral help from Dana Manager Bob Zimmerman, who proposed the initiative! Such a large team effort is necessary to launch a project like The Farm. Senior student and environmental advocate London Bernier summarizes the Green Cafe course perfectly; “This class is such a unique opportunity. We’re essentially running a small business while learning about the local food economy and providing delicious fresh meals to campus. I’ve been waiting to have a dining option like this since my first year on campus and to part of the group making it happen is so exciting.” The course and cafe are multi-faceted, teaching students about business, marketing methods, cooking skills, serving etiquette, harvesting, and what food culture is: all while serving delicious dishes.
However, the Green Cafe course and The Farm run deeper than food. While the most evident goal of the course is to get more local, organic food onto campus, it is also to bridge the gap between culture and environmentalism. Under represented groups are too often overlooked or ignored in environmental activism. Food provides a channel to decrease this ignorance; it is both intra-culturally and inter-culturally connecting, making it one of the most unassuming yet powerful cultural connectors. As stated by Environmental Studies professor and one of the Green Cafe’s spearheaders, Sara Ashpole, “I feel that food is a gateway to understanding and bridging student culture and traditions on campus and our farm to table cafe will provide a voice and space for students to share those values.” At St. Lawrence, environmental activism proves to be quite important to the entirety of the student body, so it should be reflected as such. The Farm at Kirk Douglas aims to reach inclusive environmentalism through sharing and learning about different food cultures. Right now, The Farm at Kirk Douglas Hall is only reservation based. Reservations will often be taken in the student center while tabling and announced on various forms of social media: Facebook, Instagram, etc. However, as the semester moves on, students in the course will be looking to collaborate with various groups and clubs on campus.
For any students looking to become involved in the Green Cafe Course and The Farm at Kirk Douglas Hall, the course will be offered again next fall semester. For students looking to become more immediately involved, the Seed to Table Club works closely with the course and its mores. Seed to Table meets every Sunday at 8:30 p.m. in the Monaco Room. For any questions about the course or the farm, contact sashpole@stlawu.edu.
For next Wednesday night’s (9/25) meal, reservations will be taken from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Student Center Atrium! You’ll need to physically be there in order to make a reservation. On behalf of The Farm at Kirk Douglas, we hope to see you there!
Follow The Farm at Kirk Douglas Instagram for updates on reservation times & places, weekly menus, and pictures of the process!
@ thefarmslu