With a potato station dubbed as “Yum” by acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the annual Campus Farm Dinner held Sept. 29 in Stewart Plaza proved to be more than a pop-up concert and opportunity to eat good food.
Yo-Yo Ma did a pop-up concert with the School of Music’s Orchestra which drew a decent-sized crowd to the plaza before Campus Farm’s dinner. Students, staff, faculty and guests crowded around the performers as soon as the orchestra started playing.
Sophomore Amelia Smerz had the opportunity to play alongside Yo-Yo Ma at the pop-up concert. “He was so inspiring, energetic, and excited to work with [the students]," said Smerz. "I was impressed with his focus on musicianship and rethinking the role of a performer as an avenue for connecting with an audience."
Onlookers stopped by for the concert, and many stayed for the food. After Yo Yo Ma’s performance with the SoM students, seniors Thomas Ring and Spencer Schillerstrom stayed to play jazz music while guests dined on the warm Campus Farm cuisine.
This year’s dinner was co-sponsored by the Environmental Fellows Program, the Office of Sustainability, and the Prindle Institute for Ethics.
Each table set in Stewart Plaza included ethical questions asking about the importance of where our food comes and what is right with our foods system, as well as trivia questions about the campus farm.
According to sophomore Anna Stehlik, a project manager for the farm, the dinner “helps to raise awareness about the farm, teach students about sustainable agriculture, and promote local eating.”
Around the Plaza, stations serving potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, kale, collard greens and dessert, all grown in the local campus farm, were served up to those who chose to stop by. All of the produce was an in-season crop grown at the Campus Farm, which can be found next to the entrance to the Prindle Institute for Ethics. One table featured two different options for spaghetti squash and another hosted multiple salad and green options.
The dessert station surprised some guests; many seemed off-put by the idea of making a chocolate cake with zucchini. But by the end of the night, the plate had been wiped clean.
Malorie Imhoff, sustainability coordinator and Campus Farm manager, and Anthony Baratta, DePauw's sustainability director, put together the dinner along with the help of the whole Campus Farm. The team worked together with local producers to supply the rest of the food, and Bon Appetit helped put the whole dinner together.
The goal of the dinner was “to see people at DePauw learning a little bit more about where their food comes from,” said Imhoff. They aimed to start “conversation around campus [on] what we can do about our food system.”
Much of DePauw’s food comes from the Campus Farm and local producers. “A lot of campus farm food also goes to Bon Appetit on a regular basis, so whenever you're eating in Hoover Hall, you’ll be eating a lot of Campus Farm food also,” Stehlik said.
Next year, the farm will transition to a new, larger site. Students interested in volunteering on the farm or joining the Sustainability Leadership Program should contact the Imhoff or Baratta.