OSU Students Harvest 54,000 Pounds Of Fresh Vegetables To Donate To Those In Need

Oklahoma State students have harvested more than 54,000 pounds of fresh vegetables this year from their student farm. 

All that food is used to fight hunger. 

"Bell peppers, jalapenos, and hatch green chiles, we had yellow squash, zucchini squash, tomatoes, watermelons...both crimson sweet and sugar babies," said senior Sophia Darrow. 

The project has been around for a year, giving students the chance to see what it looks like to run a small farm. 

"This is what I want to do, so what better way to learn than throwing myself into the thick of it," Darrow said. 

There are about seven students from several different majors working at the farm.

"They take it from the classroom to the field, and it really helps them get that hands-on experience and knowledge," said Justin Quetone Moss, department head of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture.

From planting to harvesting, it's all up to the students. 

"I love seeing the crops go from seed to harvest, and just taking them all the way through that, every different stage," said senior Parker Lastovica. 

But the work being done goes beyond the farm. 

The vegetables are given to Our Daily Bread Food and Resource Center in Stillwater and passed out to those in need. 

"It's very fresh. A lot of the times, what we are harvesting that morning, they are giving out that day," said co-farm manager Linda Carrier. 

The students say everyone should have access to fresh vegetables, and being able to give back to others makes all the hard work worth it. 

"I've kind of taken fresh vegetables for granted, and here we are able to help people that don't even have access to store-bought, so going from no vegetables to fresh produce and seeing the joy on their face," Lastovica said.