the Student Sustainable Farm is to supply produce to its shareholders and also to other members of the community. A portion of the harvest is distributed each week to the New Brunswick soup kitchen, Elijah's Promise. Occasionally surplus produce is also sent to food banks and other charitable organizations. Community Supported Agriculture fosters more than economic relationships. Social links are often formed through CSAs that can have important consequences. Growers are in touch with shareholders on a weekly basis, sharing news about the farm and getting feedback about the produce. Shareholders have the opportunity to see a farm in operation and even help with production if they choose. Shareholders also come to understand what can be produced seasonally in the local climate, and often receive unusual varieties of vegetables that are not found in supermarkets. The Farm as Educational Reference Other student-run farms that have used the Cook Student Organic Farm's Handbook as a resource in establishing their operations include University of Vermont Common Ground Student-Run Farm Michigan State University Student Organic Farm University of Idaho in Moscow Soil Stewards Farm The Farm as Educational Experience A survey conducted by the Rodale Institute has identified more than forty on-campus farms in the US. In the past decade alone, farm projects have been established at over a dozen schools, including Rutgers University, Cornell University, Michigan State University, New Mexico State University, Vassar College, Bennington College, Oberlin College, and the University of Vermont. One indicator of the success of the students' experience as farmers is how the participants use their skills after graduation. For example, of the approximately thousand students who have gone through the apprenticeship at University of California at Santa Cruz's Farm and Alan Chadwick Garden since it was established over 40 years ago, an estimated 75 percent have gone on to ag-related careers. Three former interns of the Student Sustainable Farm pooled their years of experience as farmers and farm managers and founded a CSA of their own in Pennsylvania, on a farm that has belonged to one of their families for 150 years. They also worked with the local food bank and offered gardening classes for both adults and children. Bibliography Rutgers Focus Magazine, April 22, 2009: Rutgers' organic farm invests in students' skills Rodale Institute Farming for Credit Cook Student Organic Farm Handbook, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ References External links The Student Sustainable Farm at Rutgers