The west patio of the North Campus Diner was alive last evening with students enjoying a hearty dinner, but instead of standard dining hall fare, students feasted on dishes such as roasted eggplant and pumpkin pancakes.
The first ever Harvest Festival featured a potluck of dishes made from the vegetable and herb garden that thrived on The Diner’s rooftop over the summer. Students prepared most of the food in University Housing Co-op kitchens, said event organizer Jesse Yurow.
Yurow, who spent the summer months tending the community garden, said he wanted to show students the positive impact they can have on the environment by eating sustainable and locally grown foods rather than sticking exclusively to a dining plan.
“As college students, we’re cementing the habits for the rest of our lives now,” the senior environmental science and technology major said. “To have people be interested in how to grow their own food is really important.”
Amber Martinez, a 2008 university graduate who helped out at the festival, said participating in an event like the festival allowed people to become more appreciative of the effort required to use fresh and local ingredients when preparing food.
“A lot of people don’t realize the amount of work that goes into the food we get,” Martinez said. “If you participate more, you’re more likely to waste less.”
Students at the event said they enjoyed eating a meal prepared from such fresh ingredients and could see themselves incorporating some of the practices they learned into their lifestyle.
“I saw all this fresh food when I was walking by, and I got excited,” freshman letters and sciences major Christina Posa said. “This is the first time I’ve actually felt good about what I’m eating.”
The Harvest Festival provided a welcome change of pace from downtown College Park’s restaurant scene and Dining Services’ predictable dishes, several students said.
“Last year, I was on the dining plan, and I hated it,” sophomore English and psychology major Julie Dancis said. “It’s nice to see people trying to make a difference in what they eat.”
Two guitarists played mellow music throughout the evening as organizers and participants painted a mural spread across the floor, creating a laid-back atmosphere students said they found appealing.
Yurow said he intended the dinner to be a catalyst in getting students excited about locally grown food and he hopes they will begin to regard the garden as a community space where like-minded students can gather.
“This is a festival celebrating the creation of a space for students,” Yurow said. “This is about students doing something amazing for the university and the world.”
Yurow, who has been a leader in university environmental movements for the past few years, said he’s confident there are enough students passionate about his initiative that it will be kept alive after he graduates.
“Everyone I’ve talked to, as soon as I say ‘rooftop garden,’ their eyes light up,” he said. “Maybe one day we’ll actually have a garden on the ground.”
saravia at umdbk dot com
