This project seeks to strengthen student understanding of the farm to fork food system. One goal is the upkeep, collection, and summarization of data from the Woody Perennial Polyculture (WPP). The WPP was a student initiated effort that was established on the Student Sustainable Farm in 2012 with support from the SSC and other campus entities. Adjacent to the Sustainable Student Farm (SSF), this site is an excellent opportunity for hands on educational opportunities and demonstrations for students and community extension. Since that time, SSC resources have facilitated processing of SSF and WPP produce by the FSHN-Food Processing Pilot Plant for use by Dining Services. Thusly, the second goal is to create educational materials and programs to help students appreciate the value of farm to fork links based on life-cycle analysis of WPP and SSF products and their conventional counterparts. Outcomes will include educational modules for use by current classes, increased student engagement on the WPP site and, data and labels containing sustainability metrics for products used by Dining Services. 

Student interns will be employed to collect plant, soil and labor data in the field, assist with product quality assessment in the lab or food-processing pilot plant, and gather economic data and information about the local multiplier effect through library research and interviews of the local businesses that are, or could, use crops modeled by the WPP-SSF systems.