Farm History

Since 2013, three quarters of an acre on the empty windswept bluff at the eastern edge of campus has been transformed into a working farm. By growing year-round using a 3000 square foot greenhouse and the outdoor space, the UCCS Farm has provided over four and a half tons of fresh food to date. Starting in June of 2013 to the present there has been a weekly delivery of produce to Dining and Hospitality Services (DHS). We have created soil from a pile of sand and are currently growing hundreds of annual and perennial plants for food, medicinal and educational purposes. The farm is utilized by a growing number of classes for education and hands-on learning. Food Next Door, a Health Science graduate student program started in 2015, is currently preparing some of the farm's produce in seasonal dishes, used to educate the UCCS community about nutrition and farm to table eating. UCCS was recently recognized as a Green Ribbon School, receiving a Postsecondary Sustainability Award, Honoring Leadership in Facilities, Health, and Environment by the US Department of Education. Food Next Door was also recognized as third in the nation for its type of program this year. These awards were earned in part because some of the food served in our dining halls is grown right on our campus farm.