USC first lady encourages organic eating options
Students are growing herbs on campus to help the idea of healthy eating habits blossom through organic and sustainable vegetables.
The Carolina Community Garden planted its roots between Woodrow and Preston Hall on Friday, at the grand opening, near USC First Lady Patricia Moore-Pastides' vegetable garden.
"I care a lot about what I put in my body and what we serve to our guests. So we try to keep everything as organic as possible," Moore-Pastides, who is a leading advocate in the public health field said.
The 21 raised plots are leased at no charge each semester to students, faculty and staff. This enables them to harvest peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, onions, romaine and even edible flowers.
Rosemary, sage and lavender should exude a pleasant aroma behind the Horseshoe.
"It's really a movement that's growing nowadays," Ronen Rappaport, a first-year mechanical engineering student said. "Everyone has the rush-daily-basis where they have to get to class and they don't take notice of the environment."
Rappaport is a member of the Carolina Eco-Reps and says he hopes to help spread awareness of sustainable living at Carolina.
Unlike organic food, which can travel thousands of miles before reaching your palette, sustainable food is sold and grown as locally as possible.
Moore-Pastides said she has locals bring fresh seafood in from the Carolina and Georgia coasts at the Farmers Market and, to eliminate the use of chemicals, she even makes her own compost.
"We take our lawn clippings and vegetable scrapings from home and it turns into this dark soil, rich in nitrogen and nutrients that is a perfect fertilizer," Moore-Pastides said.
Moore-Pastides is launching her book "Greek Revival: Cooking for Life" next year, which outlines health benefits of a traditional Mediterranean diet, but most of the book is dedicated to gardening for beginners.
"Gardening is intimidating to some people and we don't want it to be that way," said Outdoor Recreation Director Katie Coley. "Lots of the people in these plots are beginners."
Students are required to attend an educational workshop each season. However, Coley said 40 percent of the plots are leased by experienced faculty gardeners.
"We feel having faculty on the plots will help educate students and show them gardening can be fun and a great way to eat organically and locally," Coley said.
Coley said faculty seem to understand the importance of sustainable gardening more than students.
"If it's not pizza or ramen noodles students don't care," Rappaport said. However, there may be a way to organically flip a popular Southern dish."
"See all those cabbages? We are going to be having a lot of coleslaw," Moore-Pastides joked.
There is currently a waiting list of 10 people for the spring semester and four for the summer.
"So get your plot," Coley said.
According to Moore-Pastides, since the plots get plenty of sunshine and lots of walking traffic, it turned out to be a really great spot.
Rappaport agreed. "The spring weather has been mind-boggling. I'm going to come out here every week, not because I'm bored, but because it is very therapeutic to work in a garden."