Up Front: Milestones
The Farm Store Celebrates 25 Years
For 25 years, the Farm Store has been more than a campus destination. It’s been a hands-on classroom, a community hub and a place where learning comes to life.
Before the store was built, students sold citrus out of the packinghouse on campus, from a rolling cart that could travel around campus or to local farmers markets. Those early days led to the establishment of the Farm Store in 2001, a regional gem where people could buy fresh produce, milk, eggs, freshly squeezed orange juice, snacks and gifts.
The small group who spearheaded development of the store include Plant Science Professor Emeritus Dan Hostetler (’75, agronomy, ’82, master’s in agricultural science, pictured left), who had served as department chair and director of farm operations, along with former Vice President for Administrative Affairs Ed Barnes, Plant Science Professor Emerita Peggy Perry, and a committee of faculty members from various departments on campus. Farmers and other vendors from outside of campus, many of them alumni, provided goods to sell in addition to the campus- and greenhouse-grown offerings.
Hostetler, who had worked at Alpha Beta supermarket through high school and college, would open the store at 6 a.m. and leave to teach his classes after 10 a.m. Student workers did everything from stocking the shelves to ringing up customers to marketing, Hostetler said.
“We hired students or recent students as managers,” he said. “We had one student doing all the cash drops and the books. We would try to get kids from all majors to work at the store. The idea from the start was to offer students an educational opportunity to learn by doing.”
The Farm Store, along with the neighboring greenhouse, AGRIScapes and the fields have provided learning opportunities supported major events and traditions like the annual Pumpkin Festival. A car show, a Christmas tree lot, banquets, meetings, even a wedding was held on the site.
“It’s amazing to see how the Farm Store has grown,” Hostetler said. “A lot of what we envisioned for the site has come to be.”