Since 2012, Montclair State students and faculty with a passion for urban and sustainable farming, affordable food access and healthy eating have embraced the opportunities for hands-on engagement offered by the Montclair Community Farms (MCF).<\/p>\n
In fact, Montclair State Center for Community Engagement Director Bryan Murdock estimates that at least 500 students have volunteered at the farm over the past five years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey assist with all aspects of maintaining the farm \u2013 including planting, weeding, fence maintenance, feeding and watering the chickens, spreading wood chips, harvesting the crops and preparing them for sale on the farm\u2019s mobile produce stand,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n
The University\u2019s Center for Community Engagement supports the farm not only by coordinating student volunteer efforts, but also by administering grant funds, hiring farm employees and engaging faculty and students in community-based learning projects and research. The farm, Murdock notes, plays a vital role in the community by promoting education, social interaction, community building and civic engagement.<\/p>\n
\u201cA number of years ago, the Montclair Community Farm Coalition, which was operating a farm at Miller Street, in Montclair, was looking to expand their growing capability and approached us to see if we had any unused property that might be converted into a small farm,\u201d recalls Montclair History Center Executive Director Jane M. Eliasof. \u201cWe did have a nice piece of land at our Orange Road site \u2013 and liked the idea of a farm on site because it helps connect people to their agricultural roots.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today, the Montclair Community Farms Coalition is a collaborative network of organizations committed to furthering the MCF mission. Coalition members include Montclair State University, Montclair History Center, Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Essex County: Essex 4-H and Master Gardeners, HOMECorp, Montclair Department of Health and Montclair DIGS. Partners for Health Foundation, Capital One Bank and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are among the farm\u2019s generous supporters.<\/p>\n
According to Murdock, the farm\u2019s success in increasing community access to affordable and healthy food is remarkable for an operation its size. Its mobile farm stand truck brings fresh, affordable organic produce to local seniors and community members with limited access to healthy fresh foods. \u201cIt\u2019s like having a farmers market delivered to your doorstep \u2013 and is reminiscent of a time when local farmers drove through Montclair neighborhoods selling their produce door-to-door,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n
MCF also educates the community and youth farmers about effective gardening practices, healthy food and sustainability through summer farm camps for K-5 students and an Urban Youth Farmer program for teens. People of all ages can learn about everything from composting to seed saving in this summer\u2019s free series of Let\u2019s Grow Montclair Workshops.<\/p>\n
MCF also supports faculty research efforts.<\/p>\n
According to Murdock, Nutrition and Food Science Professor Renata Blumberg uses the farm for work on a U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded project, \u201cBridging the Gap Between New Jersey Farmers and Consumers Through Research, Education and Outreach,\u201d a goal of which is to strengthen food and agricultural research and outreach through community engagement and service learning.<\/p>\n
MCF is also supporting research conducted by Earth and Environmental Science Professor Yang Deng. \u201cHe is currently using the farm as a testing site for a USDA research grant on water reuse on urban farms,\u201d notes Murdock.<\/p>\n
The farm also provides unique educational opportunities for University students. Blumberg teaches a service-learning class in urban agriculture. \u201cHer students harvest farm crops and prepare them for sale on the mobile produce stand,\u201d Murdock says.<\/p>\n
This spring, several students in Nutrition and Food Science Professor Lauren Dinour\u2019s Applied Community Nutrition class created recipe cards featuring farm-grown produce. The cards\u2019 tempting recipes include cucumber, string bean and radish salad; okra with tomatoes and grilled chicken; citrus and roasted beets; summer corn salad; and a kale, banana and berry smoothie.<\/p>\n
The cards are distributed primarily to senior citizens from the mobile produce stand during the summer. \u201cThese recipes accommodate the unique nutritional needs of older adults, while keeping cost, ease of preparation, cultural appropriateness and availability of ingredients in mind,\u201d says Dinour. \u201cHopefully the recipe cards will encourage older adults to prepare and consume more vegetables during the summer \u2013 and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Site-Lead for the Montclair Community Farm, finance major Peter Kacjan streamlined and reviewed shifts and schedules of University volunteers \u2013 and helped replace fencing around the farm garden this spring.<\/p>\n
As Kacjan sees it, while MCF meets its mission of providing fresh food and education to community residents, it also has an unintended consequence. \u201cMany residents and University students come down to the farm to learn more about their food and how they can plant gardens of their own.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI enjoyed interacting with local community members and college students,\u201d he adds. \u201cEvery person has a story and I enjoy listening to their adventures.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more information, visit: https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/center-for-community-engagement\/projects-and-initiatives\/montclaircommunityfarms\/<\/a><\/p>\n