SFI, who seeks to expand local sustainability and social responsibility in food production, began in 2010 when a concerned group of students witnessed large amounts of unused cafeteria food being thrown away. This led to a food donation program, a campus composting program, the planting of campus vegetable gardens and even a student-run Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, which sold produce grown on campus to local buyers. However, when this core group of students graduated, SFI was left a ship with no captain, and its programs quickly fell into disarray.

Eshleman鈥檚 vision for the group focuses on longevity. 鈥淲e are a student club,鈥� the rising senior pointed out, 鈥渂ut have started to work towards being more of a coalition of local organizations and persons, to encourage better practices within our food systems, as well as helping groups fully utilize their own spaces to achieve healthier and more sustainable systems.鈥�

Partnering on and off campus

One key to achieving this longevity is partnering with other campus organizations, such as , the and (ESW), to draw interest and forge common connections. Already this summer ESW helped the SFI crew install solar panels on the campus chicken shed to power the heat lamps that burn throughout the winter months.

鈥淥ne of our visions for the next year is to share a meal made of locally grown food with as many campus groups as we can,鈥� said Eshleman. 鈥淲hat better way to show people what we do, than through the food itself?鈥�

The group also strives to promote EMU鈥檚 mission of sustainability outside and . 鈥淲e want to live the way we talk,鈥� said Malachi Bontrager, an major. 鈥淪FI is tangible and easy to access. We can fill a need and do so conscientiously.鈥� Such an ethos demonstrates the group鈥檚 commitment to building sustainable local communities through dedicated service.

One of SFI鈥檚 key partnerships has been with the Farm at Willow Run. The farm, located on Willow Run Road just minutes from campus, is owned by the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC), and was once the property of former EMU president Myron Augsburger and his wife, Esther. Tom Brenneman, the market garden coordinator at VMRC, has been working with VMRC鈥檚 dining services director Tobie Bow on a farm-to-table renaissance with the help of SFI students.

Forging real connections

Brenneman, a 1992 graduate with a degree in social work, lives at Willow Run and manages the gardens, in addition to his work with court-involved youth in the 26th District court service unit in Harrisonburg. Despite the enormity of the Willow Run project, which is now delivering produce directly to VMRC kitchens from 1.5 acres of cultivated land, Brenneman laughed when thinking back to its humble beginnings.

鈥淚 just had all this extra produce,鈥� he said, which he then passed along to his friend and 鈥渃o-conspirator鈥� Cal Redekop, who in turn shared the produce gratis with fellow residents in Park Village from a stand at the end of his driveway. The fresh produce has been a huge hit over the past four years. Soon a formal conversation began at the invitation of the executive team of VMRC about how local produce might be brought directly into dining services with sourcing from its own land and resources.

The Farm was quickly identified as a viable location, but who would do the work of growing it? Brenneman rallied volunteer support , some with the local network, which encourages community-building through creative skills-sharing. But the project gained steam when the partnership with SFI was formed. With five to six students working three to four days a week for two to three hours a day, Willow Run is now staffed with a consistent and dedicated workforce.

Mentors help with ag-business skills

鈥淲ithout the labor from SFI, this really couldn鈥檛 have happened,鈥� said Redekop, who often works side by side with the students. 鈥淭he Farm at Willow Run really provides almost unlimited opportunity to bring different generations together around common concerns, like how we raise our food or how we might show better reverence toward the earth.鈥�

鈥淭he farm-to-table initiative makes good sense for VMRC,鈥� said Judith Trumbo, VMRC president and CEO. 鈥淎s an advocate for aging well, VMRC continues to identify ways to help people live healthier lifestyles. We are pleased to have the support of EMU students to make the farm a success.鈥�

Along the way, the members of SFI have learned valuable lessons, not only about large-scale gardening, but also about how to keep their vision afloat. The opportunity to learn from local farmers such as Radell Schrock, a 2001 graduate who operates in Harrisonburg, has given SFI members a clearer sense of the realities of what they are attempting to accomplish.

鈥淓ffectively we鈥檙e running a small business,鈥� said SFI treasurer and nursing major Abe Thorn. It鈥檚 an experience the group will carry with them long after they have left EMU, and a legacy they hope to leave behind for future generations of students.

VMRC, neighboring 草莓社区 (EMU) on the northeast, has a $20 million annual budget, 400 employees, and 750 residents in a wide range of homes and other accommodations.

Trumbo is perhaps best known for directing the transition in 2010 of R from Cantrell Avenue in downtown Harrisonburg to a new 660,000-square-foot facility at the eastern edge of the city.

After the hospital move, Trumbo served as RMH鈥檚 acting director of perioperative services (surgery and all the services surrounding it). For 20 years before the move, she was director of RMH Home Healthcare.

Trumbo went to work at RMH as a registered nurse after her graduation from EMU as a major. She also holds a master of business administration degree from James Madison University.

Over the years, Trumbo has been active in leadership roles with the , , , , , and ElderAlliance. Currently she chairs the and serves as an associate trustee on the EMU board of trustees.

鈥淛udith has the financial astuteness, strategic planning experience, knowledge of our industry, and strong communication skills to lead VMRC,鈥� said Sheryl (King) Wyse 鈥�68, chair of the board of directors. 鈥淚n addition, Judith is well respected throughout the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County communities for her professional and volunteer leadership contributions.鈥�

Yoder is wrapping up 13 years as president of VMRC, where he strengthened the organization鈥檚 financial health and enhanced its culture of innovation and quality. Under his leadership, VMRC added Woodland Park, , , Transitional Care, and Outpatient Rehabilitation Services.

Yoder became president of VMRC in 1999 after being vice president for global ministries at (now Mennonite Mission Network) in Elkhart, Ind. Before that he served the as regional representative for in India, Bangladesh and Nepal.

As an EMU student, Yoder was a major. He holds a master鈥檚 degree from the University of Pittsburgh in public and international affairs. Yoder said hopes to stay engaged on a part-time basis as a consultant in the field of international development.

EMU alumnae Judith Trumbo, transitions director for Rockingham Memorial Hospital, takes questions from the audience during the business department’s 2008 Homecoming Breakfast.

Trumbo directs a Transition Committee that is responsible for all phases of the transition of the hospital to a newly constructed campus. Her presentation considered the rationale for constructing a new campus, benefits to the community, and the efforts to insure that the new buildings will be environmentally friendly and energy efficient.

In particular, Trumbo focused on the logistical challenges of planning and implementing the move of a health care facility that employs 2,200 people, houses 50 departments, and has patients in need of acute care 24-7. Plans are to move mid-2010. The magnitude of such a project is overwhelming. In answering the question “How do you move a hospital?” Judith answered, “The same way you eat an elephant . . . One bite at a time!”

John Lowe, an EMU alumnus, will be keynote speaker for an annual development day for area nursing professionals.

Dr. Lowe, a 1981 graduate, will speak at 9 a.m. Thursday, Apr. 19, at the Pi Mu-at-Large-Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing that includes EMU and JMU faculty and students. The event is cosponsored by District IX of the Virginia Nurses Association.

The conference will be held 9 a.m.-3:15 p.m. in the Festival Conference and Student Center at JMU.

‘Wisdom of Diversity’

Lowe, an associate professor of nursing at the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fla., will speak on the theme, "Embracing and Connecting to the Wisdom of Diversity." He is a Cherokee tribal member and one of only 13 Native American nurses in the United States with a doctoral degree.

Lowe has provided health care in such diverse areas as Tanzania, East Africa; People