When it comes to food, the more local, the better. At Trent University, it doesn’t get more local than having organic produce grown on-campus by Trent students at the Trent Market Garden and served up on the menu in Trent’s dining halls.

This fall, students, staff and faculty can enjoy fresh, organic produce across campus at a variety of food service locations, thanks to an innovative partnership between the new student-run agricultural enterprise, the Trent Market Garden, and Chartwells, the on-campus food provider.

“The value of the project is in the synergy of bringing together students, academics, administration and our third party provider to develop a facility that will serve the campus for years to come,” says Mark Murdoch, director, Trent University Food Services. “It will serve the campus as a research centre, learning laboratory, and as a place of employment and income for students. For Trent University Food Services, the food couldn’t be any fresher or more local.”

The first crop of local produce from the garden was available for tasting today, at a celebration event to mark the successful first year of the Trent Market Garden. The Garden, which is located on one and a half acres at Trent's Sustainable Agriculture Environmental Farm, was launched last March as a cooperation between Trent University Food Services, Chartwells and the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems program, with the aim to have crops planted this summer and ready for harvest this fall. As part of the first season for the partnership, not only has Chartwells agreed to buy much of the produce grown at the Trent Market Garden to serve on campus, but they have also provided seed money for infrastructure at the garden.  

Trent University students have played a key role in the development of the Trent Market Garden and the partnership between Trent Food Services and Chartwells. Working with the University’s Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems program also brought an exciting dimension to the project – creating a bridge between the classroom and the real world, by having students in the program plant and harvest the crops in the Garden.

Jonathan Duffy, a third year Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems student and co-manager of the Trent Market Garden, says it was exciting to see the project evolve from an idea to a reality and that it’s been a great benefit to his studies at Trent.

“Being involved in this innovative project has been an amazing experience,” he said. “Being able to play a role in producing healthy, local food for the Trent community and, at the same time, gain valuable, hands-on experience that has allowed me to apply my academic knowledge to the real world, is truly invaluable.”

"This is a great partnership for everyone involved," added Mr. Murdoch. “For every Trent student it means better, fresher more locally grown food.  For the members of the Trent Market Garden, it means taking the lessons of the classroom into the real world, actual fieldwork, in a real field. Students can learn, hands on, about planning, planting, growing, yield management, sales, bookkeeping and more.”

This season, students grew tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, kale, squash, eggplant, watermelon, and quinoa. Next year, the Trent Market Garden has plans to expand the area they plant, providing even more fresh and local food to campus while also supporting further research projects. 

Posted on Friday, September 11, 2015.