{"id":37316,"date":"2025-04-17T10:40:57","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T14:40:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/?p=37316"},"modified":"2025-05-06T09:39:38","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T13:39:38","slug":"magazine-a-perfect-circle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/magazine-a-perfect-circle\/","title":{"rendered":"A Perfect Circle"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A

Summer Marsden cuts peas from a trellis at the Furman Farm on November 11, 2024. Photo by Nathan Gray, Furman University<\/p><\/div>\n

The hardy leaves of a kale plant break off with a satisfying snap in the hands of a worker at the Furman University Farm.<\/p>\n

Notes of rich soil and verdant crops linger in the air around the farm, located behind The Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities. Here, a raised planter of kale or a row of broccoli are triumphs \u2013 evidence of the hard work and care that goes into growing food. But the story of each vegetable and herb plucked from these grounds doesn\u2019t end there; the farm\u2019s produce is used in meals at the Daniel Dining Hall, and whatever food winds up in the garbage is recycled into compost that nurtures the soil it originally came from.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Furman Farm is a tangible model for sustainability on campus, because you can walk through it and see firsthand our closed-loop food system,\u201d says Summer Marsden \u201925, the student assistant farm manager. \u201cHaving the opportunity to play such an intimate role in that brings me so much joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

DIRTY HANDS, CLEAN FOOD<\/h3>\n

It starts with the students.<\/p>\n

Furman Farm Manager Bruce Adams is a fourth-generation farmer, and the students that come to him are brilliant and talented. But his first step with student farm workers is to get them to forget everything they know about farming.<\/p>\n

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Bruce Adams, left, manager of the Furman Farm at the Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities, helps Kevin Amon \u201926 create an invoice for the dining hall staff before dropping off crops on November 15, 2024. Photo by Nathan Gray, Furman University<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWe have to work from the beginning to gain their trust and form a relationship where I can share with them these sustainable practices and organic food systems,\u201d he says. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t take synthetic fertilizers and harmful sprays to get good, solid food.\u201d<\/p>\n

The student farm workers take plants cultivated in Furman\u2019s greenhouse or heirloom seeds sourced from local vendors to grow the Furman Farm\u2019s produce. Adams says this is a lesson he learned from former Furman President and The Shi Institute namesake David Shi \u2013 keeping sustainable practices connected to the local economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a big picture unfolding here when we get students to grow these vegetables,\u201d Adams says. \u201cThey learn how to nurture those vegetables and put integrated pest management systems in place. When we\u2019re doing composting and growing it\u2019s a closed-loop food system \u2013 the food we grow gets used in the Dining Hall, and the waste we collect there is made into compost.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Students

From left Stefan Yazijan \u201927, Kevin Amon \u201926 and Summer Marsden \u201925 wash and sort kale that was harvested from the Furman Farm on November 11, 2024. Photo by Nathan Gray, Furman University<\/p><\/div>\n

Before Marsden became Adams\u2019 student assistant farm manager, she was no stranger to sustainable practices. As a sustainability science major, she\u2019d been interested in environmentally friendly practices since high school. But getting her hands in the dirt at the Furman Farm was a new experience.<\/p>\n

People often underestimate the thought, effort and coordination that goes into running the farm, let alone the months of work that go into growing any given crop. A single section of green beans takes a specific skillset to grow and can take a person 40 minutes of intense effort to harvest a bushel carefully, so as not to damage the produce.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe food we grow feeds students, but some of it gets donated to food banks and soup kitchens,\u201d she says. \u201cThis food system gives me hope for the amount of impact I can make.\u201d<\/p>\n

This hard work grew $16,000 worth of produce in 2023 out of a quarter-acre farm, says The Shi Institute Executive Director Andrew Predmore. But it\u2019s turning the vegetables into food, then compost that demonstrates the value of the closed-loop food system.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe farm is one example where we excel in helping Furman operate more sustainably,\u201d Predmore says. \u201cIt\u2019s emblematic of a practice that works and gives students the experience of working in that system.\u201d<\/p>\n

CHOW TIME<\/h3>\n

A deft hand brings a chef knife down on bundles of kale leaves, fresh spinach and herbs daily in the Dining Hall. The Bon App\u00e9tit staff there prepare fresh meals daily to fuel students\u2019 bodies and minds, and about 5% of the vegetables served in the Dining Hall come from the Furman Farm.<\/p>\n

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Nadiezka Carvajal, a cook for Bon Appetit, uses kale from the Furman Farm to make a vegetable casserole on November 18, 2024. Photo by Nathan Gray, Furman University<\/p><\/div>\n

After cleaning and inspection to ensure the farm\u2019s produce meets Department of Health and Environmental Control and U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, students personally deliver each harvest to the Dining Hall themselves. These handoffs serve an essential purpose in the food system, Predmore says. When students and staff connect this way, everyone learns valuable lessons. Staff see the dedication of Furman\u2019s students, and their mutual commitment to providing sustainable food inspires everyone involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear that there\u2019s real grassroots, student-driven effort around sustainability on campus, in addition to what we\u2019re doing at an institutional level,\u201d says Chef and Dining Hall General Manager Derek Morgan.<\/p>\n

Bon App\u00e9tit has implemented sustainable practices for decades, including supporting local agriculture, reducing antibiotic use in farm animals, sourcing eggs from cage-free hens and maintaining a Low Carbon Diet program. The company committed to sourcing 20% of its ingredients from small, local farmers.<\/p>\n

\"A

Brian Mapakamise \u201925 gets a vegetable casserole using kale and garlic chives from the Furman Farm at the dining hall on November 19, 2024. Photo by Nathan Gray, Furman University<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThese policies are built into our daily operation,\u201d Morgan says. \u201cWe cook from scratch and don\u2019t use corporate recipe or cycle menus, so we\u2019re well positioned to incorporate local farmers\u2019 seasonal produce into menus we develop each week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Furman\u2019s commitment to providing the space and resources to grow produce, cook with it and then capture the Dining Hall\u2019s food waste to process it into compost is a model for other colleges and universities, Morgan says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe students and Farmer Bruce picking up that food waste and taking it back to the farm completes the loop,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

ONE MAN’S TRASH…<\/h3>\n

Composting is a dirty job, but students are happy to do it.<\/p>\n

Leftover food on any of the plates placed on the revolving dish return at the Dining Hall is separated into bins specifically meant to hold food waste. Students or Adams collect these garbage bins two to three times a day, diverting food from the landfill to Furman\u2019s composting field.<\/p>\n

\"A

Bruce Adams, manager of the Furman Farm at The Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities, dumps food waste from the Dining Hall into composting piles at an off-campus composting site on September 19, 2024. Photo by Nathan Gray, Furman University<\/p><\/div>\n

Once there, the food waste is dumped and mixed in a proper ratio with carbon-heavy waste like leaf matter. Adams uses a backhoe to churn the mixture, and as microorganisms start to break down the waste it \u201ccooks.\u201d When the weather is cool, clouds of steam rise from the field as the compost reaches temperatures of up to 160 degrees from the chemical reaction.<\/p>\n

The cooked compost is brought back to campus, where it\u2019s filtered and either used on the farm or sold to raise funds supporting the farm and student fellowships. Last academic year, the farm collected nearly 275 tons of food waste, converting it into about 120 tons of finished compost.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are able to do this without ever leaving campus and without any third-party help, support or influence,\u201d Adams says. \u201cWhen I tell people at conferences how we\u2019re doing this, they still don\u2019t get it. That\u2019s 274.8 tons of food waste being prevented from going to a landfill. It has saved more than $40,000 a year from going to the landfill.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A

Kevin Amon \u201926 sifts compost for debris at the Furman Farm on November 11, 2024. The compost was made using food waste from the Dining Hall. Photo by Nathan Gray, Furman University<\/p><\/div>\n

FULL CIRCLE<\/h3>\n

This cycle has a value that can\u2019t be measured. At every point where people interact with the closed-loop food system, they learn how to adopt these practices into their daily lives \u2013 students, faculty and staff, but also volunteers, visitors and prospective students who visit the farm on tours. Greenville and Travelers Rest residents pass by while walking on campus; garden clubs and native plant societies learn about these practices at the farm.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Furman Farm offers the opportunity for students, faculty and staff to practice existing sustainable agriculture methods and test new solutions.<\/p>\n

The hands-on work is also a source of hope and inspiration \u2013 where the Furman community can demonstrate that strategies like a plant-based diet, reduced food waste, composting and regenerative farming can improve our health and well-being and also reduce our overall environmental footprint.\u201d Predmore himself now composts at home. The practice has made him more mindful of how he cooks and what he eats, and the process of making the compost requires more physical activity in his daily life.<\/p>\n

For Adams, the greatest crops grown at the Furman Farm are the life skills students cultivate for themselves. They leave the farm with sustainable principles and practices they can pass down for generations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Furman Farm\u2019s closed-loop food system feeds a better future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":37122,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3346,1963,3342],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features-spring-2025","category-furman-magazine","category-spring-2025"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37316"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38011,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37316\/revisions\/38011"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}