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Oct. 24, 2013 – The Allegheny College Food for Sustainability Project has been named a Pennsylvania Campus Sustainability Champion by the Pennsylvania Environmental Resource Consortium (PERC) for its work to advance sustainability on campus and in the community.

The goal of the Food for Sustainability Project, which is directed by Assistant Professor of Environmental Science TJ Eatmon, is to increase public understanding of sustainable systems by promoting sustainable values, attitudes and practices.

The project utilizes aquaponic systems for indoor, year-round tilapia and lettuce production that would otherwise be difficult in the cold-weather climate of the Great Lakes region. The products, which are sold to Parkhurst Dining Services, are incorporated into Allegheny’s campus dining menu throughout the year.

The integration of food production into campus operations along with faculty-student research and service-learning opportunities has supported a whole-systems approach to achieving campus sustainability. The benefits of this approach include increasing interactions and partnerships across the campus and local community that create a “real life” problem-solving laboratory.

The Food for Sustainability project grew out of a junior seminar that Eatmon taught in fall 2008. More information on the project can be found at www.foodforsustainability.com.

PERC will celebrate its Campus Sustainability Champions at a conference, “Leading the Change,” on October 29 at the Penn State campus in State College.