Ohio State University

• Type: Public, Land Grant, 4 yr, Grad School, >25,000
• Region: Midwest
• City: Columbus
• State: OH
• involvement in the Real Food Challenge?
  Level 1: Connected to the network
• Food budget: $11 million
• Provider: self operated
• On campus concessions: The Marketplace at Neil, Viewpoint Bistro, the Campus Grind, Oxley's By the Numbers, Oxley's Restaurant, Boss Dogs, Buckeye Express, Courtside Cafe & Juice 2, Fresh Express, Mirror Lake Cafe, Sprouts Cafe, the P.A.D., Traditions Dining (Kennedy Commons and North Commons),
• Dining Services Director/Executive Chef: Tom Stevenson and Mark Newton
• Farm size: to be determined
• Farm operated by students? no
• Needs and challenges: Currently, alternative agriculture does not have a strong presence on OSU's main campus. Students, faculty, and staff are in the process of planning a student run farm on campus. There is enough knowledge and dedication among the group to get a small-scale operation up and running over the next year, but in order to have a successful and sustainable student farm, there will need to be sufficient funding and infrastructure put in place. We are in the process of creating a solid proposal/vision for the farm and looking for possible funding sources. OSU's Campus Dining Services (CDS) serves 30,000 meals every day. They are self-operated, but roughly 80% of the food they source comes from their distributor, US Foods. In the past year, the CDS launched a "Buy Local" initiative which focuses on supporting larger-scale Ohio businesses and corporations. There is very little awareness or concern about building a strong regional food system or supporting sustainable farming methods. Hopefully, the student farm can be an avenue for creating discussion on campus and within the dining services.
• Composting: don't know
• Food activities: student farm/garden, student organizations
• Relevant academic programs: Student-run programs