Understanding the Soils Producing Community-Supported Agriculture

Imogene Ellis '13
Smaller Footprint Farms, Yellow Springs, Ohio

Imogene grew up in Brooklyn, New York, in an area with few options for fresh produce. Her family turned to community-supported agriculture in order to acquire the vegetables they wanted.

“I got used to opening the fridge and saying ‘Oh, this is from Farmer Bill,” says Imogene, a geosciences major.

This summer, Imogene tended vegetables herself as an apprentice at Smaller Footprint Farms in Yellow Springs, Ohio. She stayed with a host family — Earlham alumni — and biked to work, where she planted, mulched, weeded, and prepared produce for distribution.

“There’s a lot about understanding the soils and the landscape that comes from geosciences,” Imogene says. “If you’re concerned about where your food comes from, it’s nice to experience how it grows, the soil it grows in.”

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