Brody Square has found a way to put some of its food waste to good use.
With renovations taking place in Brody Complex Neighborhood, food waste from Brody Square has been turned into compost used in a new hoop house, a rounded greenhouse where plants are grown in the ground, that’s being built on the south side of Bailey Hall.
Brody Square executive chef David Brown said the project has been in the works for about the past two years, and he is excited to serve vegetables made from waste created by the cafeteria.
“With the (hoop house), in the past year they’ve been taking a lot of our pulped material from Brody (Square), and they’ve been composting it — all the compost in the greenhouse is coming from Brody Square,” Brown said.
The produce from the greenhouse, which Brown said will mostly be herbs and greens, will be served in Brody Square, likely at the Veg Out station and at the Kellogg Center.
The project is a collaborative effort of Residential and Hospitality Services, the Residential Initiative on the Study of the Environment, or RISE, and the Student Organic Farm Training Program.
It will allow students to learn about growing food in sustainable ways while working in the hoop house, RISE program director Laurie Thorp said.
Some of the plants that will be in the greenhouse already have started cultivation at the Student Organic Farm Training Program, she said, and the herbs will be planted in the next month.
“We’ll have (the hoop house) completely operational for the beginning of the school year,” Thorp said.
She said although paid positions working in the hoop house will go to RISE students, who range from freshmen to seniors interested in learning more about the environment, all students on campus can get involved with the new project, and she hopes professors and students will schedule tours to learn more about the process of growing the food.
“One of the primary objectives of the project is for students living on campus to be able to participate and see the full cycle of food,” Thorp said.
Quan Blunt, premedical and nutritional sciences sophomore and RISE member, said he is excited about the new hoop house, and he has talked to Thorp about getting involved in the project.
Although he opted to live in Shaw Hall, he is jealous of students living in Bailey Hall because of all the environmentally friendly features in the hall.
“I think it is really cool RISE is getting involved with growing its own produce on campus,” Blunt said. “They can … learn more about plants as a whole — I just think it’s awesome.”
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