The Student Organic Farm recently raised $24,550 at its 2010 Hoophouse Gala to benefit scholarships for the training and education of organic farmers. The funds are now part of an approximately $50,000 MSU student farmer endowment that includes the proceeds from last year’s event, said Emily Drake, communication assistant for the Division of Residential and Hospitality Services.

MSU chefs prepared a gourmet meal for university faculty and community members during the Sept. 12 gala using ingredients solely from the Student Organic Farm and other Michigan organic farms, Laurie Thorp, director of the Residential Initiative on the Study of the Environment, said.

Courses included pasture-raised pork, Michigan peach sorbet and farm honey vanilla ice cream, along with a selection of Michigan wines.

“It was about bringing our food full circle,” Thorp said. “It was great to see us grow it out of the farm and then see chefs perform it in amazing gourmet dinners.”

Horticulture junior Minori Wisti, a volunteer at the farm, plans to become an organic farmer after she graduates, she said.

“I think a lot of problems are connected with food and food systems,” Wisti said. “For a lot of well-being and nutrition, you have to look at the source of your food and where you’re eating.”

Thorp said the Student Organic Farm grows more than 80 different crops including raspberries, asparagus and salad greens. It also raises some farm animals, Thorp said.

Organic farming focuses on “feeding” the soil with natural compost rather than fertilizers, she said.

“It’s about having a reciprocal relationship with the land and also with the community — eating seasonally, eating locally … and putting a face on the farmer,” Thorp said.

Organic farming is about working with complex ecosystems, not just leaving pesticides out of the mix, she added.

“It’s not about controlling or dominating nature to get food,” Thorp said. “It’s about how we work with nature and natural processes.”

The farm is working to build a hoophouse to house millions of red worms that will be able to process waste from the cafeterias and turn it into compost that will be usable at the farm, Thorp said.

The farm has several hoophouses that allow them to grow and harvest crops past the typical Michigan freeze date, she said. However, Thorp said approaching Michigan falls and winters mean people need to think about eating winter storage crops like carrots, potatoes, onions and squash.

“It’s about what you would eat in the Midwest rather than the strawberries shipped in from California,” Thorp said.