Harvest Fest Celebrates community and sustainability

This past Sunday, the University of Michigan Campus Farm and Matthaei Botanical Gardens were filled with the sounds of drums and guitars and the aroma of fresh produce during Harvest Fest. The annual event celebrates food sustainability and highlights the efforts of students and local organizations dedicated to sustainable food practices. 

Now in its 12th year, Harvest Fest takes place each autumn and is organized by the University of Michigan Sustainable Food Program, a student-led initiative focused on creating a more equitable and sustainable food system on campus. The event brings together attendees to enjoy nature-focused activities, such as hot pepper tastings with Campus Farm-grown peppers, tours of the Campus Farm and a tea-mixing station. 

LSA senior Natalie Dwortz, UMSFP co-events manager, said the event’s mission is to foster community through food in an interview with The Michigan Daily.

“We want it to be fun,” Dwortz said. “There’s live music, games and crafts, but we also want it to be a chance for people to get out to the campus farm and really see where their food is grown and connect with it on a different level and to each other.”

In addition to food-related activities, the free, open-house event included informational tables for student sustainability clubs and University programs. Organizations includingMaize & Blue Cupboard, Campus Farm Club and Plant Futures tabled at the event, leading attendees in activities like trivia on environmental topics and seed planting. 

LSA sophomore Gigi Gondoly, member of Plant Futures, shared her appreciation for the way Harvest Fest brings together individuals passionate about sustainability in an interview with The Daily.

“It’s a really cool way to bring people to our organization who are already interested in similar things,” Gondoly said. “It’s a way to connect people who are all interested in environmental and sustainability.” 

LSA sophomore Cathryn Wren Bennie shared her thoughts on how Harvest Fest connects people interested in environmental and sustainability issues in an interview with The Daily.

“I think it’s super cool how Harvest Fest includes the broader Ann Arbor community as well as the University community because I feel like food is something that everyone kind of shares,” Bennie said.

In addition to Harvest Fest, UMSFP and Campus Farm operate the Farm Stand on campus. The new Farm Stand trailer was present at the event, providing information about its weekly pop-up market, which sells produce from the Campus Farm from August to mid-November.

LSA senior Lauren Jones, manager of the Farm Stand, told The Daily about the market’s goals, particularly regarding food sovereignty.

“The farm stand is an equal collaboration between the U-M Sustainable Food Program and the U-M Campus Farm,” Jones said. “The goal of the farm stand is to bring produce that is grown organically, and we do it with the purpose of enforcing food sovereignty and increasing food access to students and Ann Arbor residents.”

Jones also said events like Harvest Fest aim to make sustainability more approachable.

“Sometimes, the pressure to be sustainable can be anxiety-inducing, but coming to something like Harvest Fest and hearing live music, talking with people, playing games and making a tote bag shows that this can be fun,” Jones said. 

Dwortz said she hopes for attendees to enhance their connection with their food system and community.

“I want people to walk away feeling more connected to their food system on the Ann Arbor campus,” Dwortz said. “A lot of the food grown on the campus farm is in the dining halls. … I just want them to feel more connected with each other and hopefully find some community within the food sustainability space.”

Daily Staff Reporter Jenna Hausmann can be reached at jenhaus@umich.edu.

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