Xavier Curtis
The first time I ever set foot on a farm as a worker and not just a sightseer was in the spring of 2008. I quickly fell in love with farming and relished the early morning and long afternoons on the farm, planting, harvesting, and eating fresh produce. I've been working at Sprouting Acres farm as a workshare, working once a week in return for produce, since the summer of 2008. As I visited more small farms in the Madison area and met the farmers, I realized how badly many of them needed big crews of volunteers to take care of the large farm tasks, be it planting onions, working and turning compost piles, harvesting during peak weeks, weeding, and even putting up hoophouses or helping build a shed. I had connected with many of these farmers and felt a shared responsibility in helping them. They were providing us with healthy, environmentally safe, and delicious food, even if at the cost of long hours in the fields maintaining their crops.
At the same time, UW's campus was becoming ever more interested in learning more about community supported agriculture and how these sustainable farms were run. Students and faculty were striving to become part-time farmers. People were looking to connect to their "foodshed". We just needed to create the outlet so that interested volunteers could get out and farm. The campaign started off small, with one or two cars worth of volunteers, driving out to Sprouting Acres in Stoughton to help with the bigger tasks on the farm. Farmer Watson only had so much we could help with, but we kept hearing from more and more friends how badly they wanted to get out of town and get their hands dirty! It was encouraging and this spring we decided to launch what we've dubbed the "Farm Mobbing" campaign.
At its most basic level we are trying to get students out to different area farms every weekend throughout the growing season, helping students and faculty to learn more about sustainable farming and food, while helping out those farms that are leading the local food movement!
The Farm Mobbing program is a joint coordination between Slow Food UW, REthink Wisconsin, The GreenHouse Dorm, and F.H. King. Keep your eye out for a Farm Mob near you!
At its most basic level we are trying to get students out to different area farms every weekend throughout the growing season, helping students and faculty to learn more about sustainable farming and food, while helping out those farms that are leading the local food movement!
The Farm Mobbing program is a joint coordination between Slow Food UW, REthink Wisconsin, The GreenHouse Dorm, and F.H. King. Keep your eye out for a Farm Mob near you!