Fresh Food Access
We run a variety of programs that simultaneously expand fresh food access for the MIT community and strengthen relationships with local farmers.
At the heart of our work is a direct-to-community food model that connects MIT with the farmers who grow our food. By purchasing produce directly from local farms and creating new ways to distribute it on campus, we can support fair compensation for farmers while making fresh, locally grown food more accessible to students.
In Fall 2025, MIT Farm, MIT Office of Sustainability (MITOS), and MIT Anthropology partnered with Hannan Healthy Foods to pilot a six-week Fresh Food Bag program, bringing organic, locally grown produce directly to campus at an affordable price. MIT purchased a large share of produce directly from Hannan Farm in Lincoln, Massachusetts, at full wholesale price, providing the farm with a consistent market for its harvest. The produce was then divided into Fresh Food Bags and offered to the MIT community at a 50% discount through a weekly farmstand in the Stata Center. Each bag contained approximately $20 worth of organic produce but was sold for just $10. Over six weeks, the pilot distributed 260 Fresh Food Bags, with bags consistently selling out within the first hour. Student volunteers harvested produce, assembled bags, and staffed the distribution point, contributing more than 100 volunteer shifts while learning about periurban farming and sustainable agriculture.
In Summer 2026, we launched a traditional Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, allowing members of the MIT community to purchase CSA shares directly from a local farmer and receive regular installments of fresh produce throughout the growing season.
Beginning Fall 2026, we are also piloting a farm-to-dorm model, bringing kitchen-sized shares of locally grown produce directly to dorms and student organizations. This model allows us to reach more students while reducing the labor required to assemble individual bags. Supported by Undergraduate Association participatory budget, these programs are the next step in our effort to make locally grown food a regular and accessible part of life at MIT.
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Resiliant Future Dinners
Farming is great, but sometimes instead of working in the field, we come together to prepare a shared meal.
Together with Kate Brown (MIT STS) and Gabriel Bonamy (DUSP ’26), we started a series of on-campus dinners called Resilient Future Dinners. We meet in one of MIT’s communal kitchens to cook, eat, and talk together. These dinners are an opportunity to meet new people and exchange ideas while stirring a pot of French onion soup or chopping kale for a delicious farm-fresh salad. The meals are simple, but the conversations can be wide-ranging: What can we do to make our campus and communities more resilient? How can we turn ideas into action, even in small ways?
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