2010 Farm Program Page

The Dunn Farm Program

Don't let Matt Struckmeyer catch you saying "Dunn Organic Garden"--it's now the Dunn Farm Program, thank you very much. The new title reflects Matt's broad ambition and enthusiasm for making sustainable eating and living a key component of the Dunn School experience. “Gardening” implies something small scale, more like a hobby. But “Farm” is a word that shows we're serious, ready to make a major impact on how people eat and live.

The centerpiece of the effort is undoubtedly the "pigposting program"—using pigs to consume all of the school's leftover food and converting the animals’ waste into the compost that sustains the crops. Last year the school processed approximately nine tons of kitchen leftovers that would have otherwise gone to the landfill. That's a major lessening of the "footprint" Dunn leaves on the earth, and quite a boon to farmer Randy Jones' bottom line out at the Pork Palace.

The fresh vegetables grown on Dunn’s lush campus teaches the community that “eating local” isn’t a sacrifice—it’s a pleasure. For their morning job, several advisee groups to harvest organic salad greens and tomatoes, while later in the day those students participating in Farm will care for the pigs and plant more crops. The program employs about 25 enthusiastic volunteers. Hopefully a few of them will pursue a career in the sustainability movement, perhaps as scientists or agricultural entrepreneurs. Many of the best colleges now have campus farms run by students, and they're offering new majors to reflect this “growing” movement. The Farm program is just another example of Dunn’s commitment to building the leaders of tomorrow.