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Univeristy of Kansas student gardeners plant seeds to fight food insecurity

Coordinator Hiroko Kobayashi collects produce from the Earth Campus Garden. Nearly all of the produce goes to the University of Kansas Campus Cupboard to help feed students with food insecurity.

“Last year during COVID one day I just said, ‘I need to get out of this room,’” Shatz said. “I saw the program online and now I’m here.”

By Gavin Walker
The University Daily Kansan
Oct 9, 2021

Excerpt:

The 1,600-square-foot garden can be found on KU’s West Campus, behind the University Press of Kansas.

This year, students are tending to blueberries, raspberries, grapes, peas, eggplants, asparagus and other fruits and vegetables.

Schatz and her fellow coordinators Kelly Tran, a KU junior and global and international studies major, and Hiroko Kobayashi, a sophomore human biology and behavioral neuroscience major from Tokyo – along with their 30 other volunteers – have donated approximately 10 pounds of produce from the garden to the Campus Cupboard since Aug 23.

They are planning to donate 70 pounds by the end of the fall semester, Kobayashi said.

The garden is part of the KU Center for Community Outreach organization. Earth, which focuses on promoting and engaging in outdoor, environmental sustainability practices on campus and in the community, according to their website. All levels of gardening experience are welcome, with volunteers at the garden ranging from no experience to seasoned horticulturists.

Read the complete article here.