Edible Campus Program - Student Farm

We need your help getting to full production. Every gift helps build a bed, plant a seed, grow a tree and get us to harvest faster. With your support today, we can supply our student food pantries by June!

Join us in helping address food insecurity among our students, while at the same time, helping them learn and practice sustainable farming.

The Edible Campus Program aims to address local food insecurity by repurposing underutilized spaces for sustainable food production, and educating and engaging students as growers and producers.

A UC 2015 Student Food Access and Security Survey found 48% of undergraduate students and 31% of UCSB graduate students reported having experienced food insecurity – defined as reduced food intake or disrupted eating patterns at times due to limited resources, or a reduced quality, variety or desirability of diet.

To help address this issue, UCSB formed the Edible Campus Program in 2015.  Alumni Kim and Jack Johnson and their Johnson Ohana Foundation were early supporters and helped kick off the program with the planting of fruit trees in Storke Plaza.  After three years of planning, the Edible Campus Program recently broke new ground on its most ambitious project, the Student Farm. The Student Farm is an over 12,000 square foot farm that will follow sustainable agricultural techniques while providing healthy fruits and vegetables for distribution through the Associated Student’s Food Bank and Miramar Food Pantry.   

By making a contribution to the Edible Campus Program, you join UC Santa Barbara in its pivotal role in educating and serving an economically diverse student body.  Ranked #2 in the nation for doing the most for low-income students by the New York Times’ 2017 College Access Index, UC Santa Barbara is a leader in upward mobility.  In addition to financial contributions, the Student Farm welcomes community members of all ages and backgrounds to connect and help grow this program through volunteer work-days, workshops, and more. Help lift up tomorrow’s entrepreneurs and leaders by supporting them today.