The Missouri State University campus garden has grown fresh produce for students and the Springfield community since 2011.

The garden began as a proposal through Mo State’s student-led Sustainability Commission, which supports projects that make campus more environmentally friendly. The commission is funded through a $2 sustainability fee included in each student’s tuition.

Students grow and tend crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, herbs and root vegetables. Most of this produce is donated to the Bear Pantry, Mo State’s campus food pantry that provides fresh food, canned goods, hygiene items and school supplies to students, faculty and staff. Extra produce the pantry can’t store is often donated to community fridges around Springfield.

Erin Nelson, a senior studying environmental plant science at the Darr College of Agriculture, joined the Missouri State Journal to talk about the garden’s mission, how it supports sustainability on campus and how people can start their own gardens.

To learn more about the Missouri State campus garden, the Bear Pantry or volunteer opportunities, visit missouristate.edu/sustainability.

Read the full transcript