Ashley Lanham
Student and Consultant
Economics & Management and Russian
Beloit College

My interest in food began when I interned in the summer of 2009 at Green Earth Institute, a CSA organic farm, in Naperville, IL. Green Earth Institute also maintained a learning center, prairie restoration efforts, and wetland preservation efforts in the middle of a 100,000 population suburb of Chicago. I spent the summer working in the fields and talking with shareholders and fellow employees. My time on the farm gave me a good introduction to a different food production system. It became a venue to discuss with proactive and passionate individuals about their work within their local food system.

From my experience on the farm, I wanted to create a space on Beloit College’s campus for the production of organic produce. During the spring of 2010 another Beloit College student and I co-founded the on-campus organic garden. The goals of the garden are two-fold. The first is to move Beloit on the path towards purchasing more local and organic produce through an on-campus demonstration. The second is to give interested individuals in gardening and food production a way to gain experience from an on-campus source. The garden represents what can be achieved with ambition and conviction, and supports Beloit College’s goal to facilitate an intellectual and engaging community. Reflection on last season’s successes and failures and this season’s goals for the garden combine to develop a (hopefully) successful season.

In the Fall 2010 semester I studied abroad in Moscow, Russia where I researched the decisions Russians make when obtaining their food at the market and at the supermarket. I traveled around Moscow to different markets and supermarkets conducting informal interviews and participant observation. It was fascinating to research how Russians approach their food choices under capitalism because of the plethora of food and its ability to be imported. The remnants of communism are still seen by the markets’ living history which seemingly clashes with the indulgence of the supermarkets.

Upon my return to Beloit College, I enrolled in the Sociology class “Contemporary Food Movements”. In this class I was able to explore food in a more academic way through discussion, scholarly articles, and engagement with food issues in the city of Beloit. Moreover this class gave me the opportunity to expand upon my Russian food research by researching an aspect of the American local food movement, the farmers’ market, to produce a cross-cultural study between the American and Russian market.

These interactions with different parts of the food system culminate into my aspirations of sustainable development. My aspirations in sustainable development take two forms: educational curricula and sustainable economic development. My current internship at the Welty Environmental Center in Beloit, WI has introduced me to material about environmental and food systems and how these systems are taught within an educational setting. The question of the feasibility of sustainable food systems created an opportunity to work with Beloit’s community organizations. Working with Beloit Memorial Hospital, Community Action Inc., and Beloit Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families, I and my consulting partner are researching and traveling to different urban agriculture sites which could act as a potential model for a Beloit urban agriculture site. Not only is the consulting process providing useful information to the community organizations, it also gives me the opportunity to increase my knowledge and interactions with people engaged with urban agriculture. Accruing experience through hands-on engagement and academic research enriches my understanding of the nature of food systems. Furthermore this highlights for me the importance of continuous interaction with, discussion with, and learning from those who are involved in food systems as a way to develop my own visions for the future of the food system.