UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Kick off the bountiful fall harvest season at the Student Farm’s third annual Harvest Festival. Campus and community members are invited to the farm from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 6 to experience live music, eat farm-fresh hors d'oeuvres and interact with members of the Student Farm Club and the Sustainability Institute.
The Student Farm at Penn State is a one-acre diversified vegetable farm established in the spring of 2016, located near the intersection of Big Hollow and Fox Hollow roads.
“Harvest festivals are celebrated annually all around the world, and at the Student Farm at Penn State, we love having this chance to bring together everyone in the community to our one-acre vegetable farm,” said Jessica Chou, the Student Farm Club’s programming director.
This family friendly event will feature live music and farm-fresh hors d'oeuvres provided by Campus Catering and chefs from Housing and Food Services. During student-led tours, attendees will have the opportunity to sample the food growing on the farm and learn about how it is used to feed the community. Face-painting and planting activities will be provided for families with children attending the event.
“Harvest Festival is an opportunity to gather our students, faculty, staff and community members to celebrate the growing of food, eating healthy and learning about our interdependence with natural ecosystems,” said Paul Shrivastava, Penn State’s chief sustainability officer and director of the Sustainability Institute.
The mission of the Student Farm is to educate people about sustainable food systems, cultivate community and increase access to local foods on campus and in the community.
“In our busy lives, we are becoming more disconnected from nature,” Shrivastava said. “Gatherings such as the Harvest Fest are an opportunity to connect with nature and with people to build our community.”
Guests are encouraged to bring their own lawn chair or blanket and are reminded to wear sturdy shoes. The event will be held rain or shine.
Students and the campus community may get a ride to the farm via a blue bus. Departures to the Student Farm will be at 5:30 and 6 p.m. from the Ag Administration Building (pullout area near Berkey Creamery). The bus will return guests to campus at 7 and 7:30 p.m. On-campus guests are welcome to ride bikes to the farm together. The bike pool will meet at the seating area next to Berkey Creamery to depart at 5:10 p.m. Bikers should use Big Hollow Road to get to the farm, and don't forget a light for the ride home as it will be dusk.
For more information about this event, visit studentfarm.psu.edu.