By Maggie Edwards 

Fresh, local and student-grown are key ingredients to the success of Auburn University’s (AU) FoodU program.

“The idea was to create an example of a hyperlocal, sustainable food system,” said FoodU Program Coordinator Jack Maruna. “It’s opened opportunities for student-employees to get hands-on practice in the food system from seed to compost.” 

The vision began in 2022 with AU’s Director of Campus Dining Glenn Loughridge and has transformed into the “Future of Food.”

The initiative encourages sustainable farming by growing produce on campus to serve students and community members. 

“I was an AU student long ago,” Loughridge said. “No one gets their freshman year back, so I wanted to find something that was special for the students. This connects different students who wouldn’t have interacted with agriculture, and it gives them a unique experience. Our goal is for them to walk out of this dining hall knowing what fresh tastes like.” 

The FoodU partnership includes Campus Dining, the College of Agriculture Department of Horticulture and Ithaca Hospitality. The group effort also includes a collaboration with the College of Human Sciences, which houses the Tony and Libba Rane Culinary Science Center. 

Campus Dining is integral to FoodU, said AU Department of Horticulture Associate Professor Daniel Wells. 

“Glenn wants to integrate student experience to the food system,” Wells said. “We immerse students and student-employees by allowing them to grow food in different venues. This trains students in state-of-the-art growing techniques but also in problem solving.” 

Aside from growing for the dining hall, FoodU contributes high-quality, fresh products to AU’s teaching restaurant, 1856. High-end chefs cherish those ingredients, Maruna said. FoodU also donates to the Auburn Campus Food Pantry.

“Our target products for campus dining are spring mix lettuce and tomatoes, where the restaurant craves unique commodities,” Maruna said. “Edible flowers and microgreens are big for culinary science. We have on-site production, which could include harvesting and consuming in the same day. The chefs are amazed at the quality and freshness of the products.”

Diverse growing spaces like container farms, greenhouses and raised beds, plus a rooftop garden, give a consistency to the supply. 

“Being up here on the rooftop allows us to see every single aspect of production,” said Max Porter, an AU senior and manager of the rooftop garden perched on the Laurel Hotel. “We care from seed to delivery and from growing transplants to taking the product to the culinary or dining staff.” 

AU student Branyon Clarke agreed. 

“The hands-on involvement is cool because we work for horticulture, but we aren’t actually ag majors,” said Clarke, a biosystems engineering and environmental sciences major who helps manage the rooftop garden and raised beds. “Being from different backgrounds allowed us to learn — and now teach others — how to grow fruits and vegetables.” 

The value extends beyond the Loveliest Village, Maruna said. 

“Our goal isn’t to get people to change,” he added. “We want them to get real-world practice and a better understanding of the U.S. food system. That prepares them for a life outside of college. In our world, we want Auburn to be known for food.”