F.H. King Students for Sustainable Agriculture announced via Instagram that they will now be named ‘The People’s Farm’ Oct. 1.
The group has been named after University of Wisconsin Soil Science professor F.H. King for the last 44 years, according to the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems website. But, the organization has changed their title to be more aligned with the organization’s goal, one of The People’s Farm’s directors, Connor Reilly said.
“We just think it’s a lot more reflective of what we do, but also why we’re doing what we do,” Reilly said. “We’re not doing this because F.H.K. inspired it to happen — He’s a massive figure in agriculture, but we do this for people. And we think the farm is for the people.”
According to CIAS website, The People’s Farm was founded in 1979 to promote sustainable agriculture. King was a leader in the movement consider the long-term impact of agriculture in North American farming, according to the CIAS website.
The group promotes sustainability through workshops and student education at their two-acre farm where students help plant, maintain and harvest about 4,000 pounds of produce annually, according to the CIAS website.
Reilly, who oversees the day-to-day operations at the farm, said that the organization is structured to allow students to be as hands-on or hands-off as they want.
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“We just want people to be connected with the food that they eat. So people can show up at any of our designated workdays or workshops. They can leave whenever–they don’t have to show up, they can just come and take produce if they want,” Reilly said. “As long as we have an impact in having people reconsider the sourcing of their food, and if we can start conversations about being more reliant on local agriculture as well as forming a community around local agriculture … that’s probably the most important part of our club.”
Latest information about The People’s Farm can be found on their Instagram page.
