A variety of vegetables and melons from Grand Valley’s Sustainable Agriculture Project (SAP) was donated to local food pantries in an effort to help those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
SAP, the university’s educational farm, is located just south of the Allendale Campus.
Margaux Sellnau, interim farm manager and educator, said in May alone, more than 120 pounds of produce was harvested and donated to the Community Food Club and Heartside Gleaning in Grand Rapids. That included beets, carrots, lettuce, kale, swiss chard and turnips.
“The garden has to keep going. The food system is a really important asset and we want to get it to the people who need it,” she said. “We want to do whatever we can to give back.”
Sellnau said melons were transplanted and harvested mid-summer; pumpkins and squash will be harvested for fall.
The typical harvest season is May-October. Share members of the garden are mostly faculty and staff members; Sellnau said farm shares may be available later in the season.
