MADISON- If one took a tour of UW-Madison, the beautiful buildings and impressive academics might lead one to believe that issues like hunger and homelessness are absent from the campus. At first glance, the state’s flagship university appears to be a haven for intellectual achievement and student wellbeing. However, just like other campuses, food insecurity is faced by many of Wisconsin’s brightest students. One of these bright students, Hannah DePorter, is now working to bring fresh produce to Madison’s students.
Amanda Magnus at Wisconsin Public Radio reports:
College students notoriously rely on cheap, easy food like ramen noodles. But a new program on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus is trying change that by making fresh produce an easy option for students, too. It’s called the UW Campus Food Shed.
Founder Hannah DePorter got the idea from previous work.
The UW-Madison senior was administrative director for a sustainable agriculture organization on campus that gives out free produce to students, staff and community members in Madison on Fridays. She was also working as a student in a plant breeding lab. In both positions, there were vegetables and other produce left over that were just getting composted.
“I wanted to be able to extend the life of all of these vegetables that are just being wasted and put them into people’s hands,” she explained.
The Food Shed program has four refrigerator locations: one at the Student Activity Center, one at Science Hall, one at the Plant Sciences Building and one at Allen Centennial Gardens. Those four locations were chosen because they’re spread out on campus — two are on the west side, two are on the east side.
“It creates more accessible locations for individuals to go depending on where they are, and all those places are always frequented by faculty, students and staff, so we want to reach as many people as possible,” DePorter said.
Read more at Wisconsin Public Radio.
