The Otterbein Community Garden alleviates hunger in Westerville while building partnerships. Through the garden, over 100 Otterbein students gain experiential learning opportunities. Twenty-two community groups donate at least 25% of the garden's produce, expected to be over 1,000 pounds this year, to a local food pantry. The garden strengthens relationships between Otterbein University and surrounding schools and organizations to address food insecurity.

1. Engaging campuses in service to the community.
Ohio Campus Compact VISTA Impact Report: Otterbein University
Ohio Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTA strategically connects college resources with
communities in need. Corps members gain valuable experience and educational awards.
Campuses expand their civic outreach. And community partners receive critical support.
HISTORY & BACKGROUND Poverty Alleviation Focus Area: Food Security
The Center for Community Engagement and Center for
Equine Studies created the garden in 2010 to provide students For more information contact:
with a living space on campus for experiential learning and to VISTA Corps member: Erica Phillips
meet a burgeoning need in the community related to food (614) 823-1583 • ephillips@otterbein.edu
insecurity. The university dedicates itself to educating its Site Supervisor: Melissa Gilbert
students about poverty and providing volunteer opportunities (614) 823-1251 mgilbert@otterbein.edu
that allow students to take action to create community Ohio Campus Compact VISTA Sr. Program Director:
partnerships and alliances that combat these social issues. Lesha Farias (740) 587-8571 • lesha.farias@gmail.com
Faculty also participate in a community of practice focusing on www.ohiocampuscompact.org
poverty, encouraging them to create innovative programs to
address social issues.
About 1.6 million Ohioans received SNAP food support in
fiscal year 2010.
From 2008 to 2010, the number of non-public assistance
SNAP recipients increased by 43.3%.
The “suburbanization” of poverty has also affected areas
such as Westerville, as more people move further out from
city centers and face situational poverty. The poverty rate
of families in the suburbs has increased by 37% in the US.
In 2010, Westerville Area Resource Ministries (WARM),
served over 4,400 households.
Within Franklin County, 11 of 16 suburban school districts had
an increase of more than 10 percentage points in the number
of economically disadvantaged students over the past five
school years. In Westerville Schools, 26% of students were
considered disadvantaged in the 2009-2010 school year.
Otterbein maintains significant partnerships with Westerville Otterbein VISTAs alleviate hunger in Westerville while
City Schools, instilling the value of experiential education at the building strong alliances through the Otterbein
garden into all grade levels. Community Garden. With 22 groups donating at least
“The garden provides our youth with the opportunity to 25% of their produce to WARM, the garden expects
connect with their community and make a difference in to harvest over 1,000 pounds of produce this year.
the world around them. It has been an exciting With so many participating groups, the garden is a
adventure that has fostered a strong community and portal to community partner relationships. Through
brought learning to life. Students are able to make real- the garden, the CCE seeks to grow a network of
world connections while expanding upon what they’ve partnerships for Otterbein student involvement, which
leads not only to volunteer opportunities, but also to
learned within the four walls of a classroom. The garden
internships, research projects, and alliances across the
project has been an extraordinary learning experience for
university.
all involved and we’ve only just begun.”---Liz Stimer, 7th
Grade Math Teacher, Genoa Middle School

2. CAMPUS IMPACT
By building a community of action with students, staff, faculty, and alumni, we The VISTA Impact
are creating strong campus alliances at the community garden. Four student by the numbers:
organizations are maintaining plots at the garden this year, involving fifteen
students. Through the SEEDS (Students Engaged in Ecological Development &
Stewardship) program, students assist at the garden for 300 hours and receive
Otterbein Community Garden
an $1132 Education Award through the federal AmeriCorps program. We
Garden Plots: 39
currently have five students enrolled in this program. For eight weeks in the
summer, we also hire two Summer Associate VISTAs, students who work Groups Involved: 22
full-time at the garden. These student leaders administer the garden in the
summer, handling not only the CCE plots, but also maintaining communal Grants and In-Kind Support: $9,500
spaces, assisting the Westerville City Schools SOIL group, and facilitating Grants Submitted: 10
garden events. This summer, they are also volunteering at the WARM USDA
Summer Lunch Program three days a week. WARM serves over 100 free Student Participants: >100
lunches each day to children in Westerville and the SEEDS and VISTA
volunteers are crucial to the volunteer base of this program. Both of these Produce Donated 2010 250 lbs.
AmeriCorps programs emerged because the alliances were in place to make Produce Donated 2011 ≥ 25%
them possible for our students.
Faculty and staff also participate at the garden. Faculty in the Sociology,
Sustainability, Public Relations, and Art departments have created service-
learning projects for their classes involving the garden. We have augmented
The importance of the community garden
our partnership with the Education Department and Westerville City Schools surpasses just aiding the community, it allows
as well. In addition to building content area knowledge, we are also educating for students to gain experiences and skills
Otterbein and Westerville students about the importance of volunteerism necessary to develop into well rounded
and service. individuals who have a genuine concern for the
environment and people around them.
COMMUNITY IMPACT – Lucy Pierce, ’13, SEEDS AmeriCorps
This year we have 22 different groups maintaining plots at the Otterbein Member and Sustainability major
Community Garden, a significant increase from the previous year. The
gardening groups come from a wide breadth of organizations. With thirty-
nine 20 ft. x 20 ft. garden plots, growth through further partnerships with About Ohio Campus Compact
community and university groups will continue. By requiring groups to AmeriCorps*VISTA
maintain plots instead of individuals, we hope to encourage more alliances and
community building within each plot itself, in addition to the community Ohio Campus Compact is a statewide nonprofit
building that occurs within the garden as a whole. Already, our students are coalition of colleges and university presidents and
forming bonds with various garden groups. Last year, a single Westerville City their campuses working to promote the civic
Schools group donated 250 pounds of produce to the local food pantry. With purposes of higher education. Ohio Campus
an increased yield this year, we hope to harvest at least 1,000 pounds of Compact provides resources, services &
produce for WARM by the end of the season. With its unique mission based partnerships to help Ohio campuses deepen their
in education, philanthropy, and community partnerships, the garden is ability to educate students for civic and social
expanding Otterbein’s presence in the Central Ohio community. responsibility and to improve community life.
KEEPING THE PARTNERSHIP STRONG: OPPORTUNITIES FOR AmeriCorps*VISTA is the national service program
THE FUTURE designed specifically to fight poverty. Founded as
As the garden moves forward, we must continue to strengthen our on-
Volunteers in Service to America in 1965 and
campus and community partnerships to ensure the garden’s success and incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of
sustainability. For the garden to succeed, it must also be a priority for offices programs in 1993, VISTA has been on the front
beyond the CCE and we must continue the process of institutionalization. lines in the fight against poverty in America for
The CCE alone lacks the capacity to continue this project. Only two plots more than 40 years.
have been unclaimed this year, demonstrating the campus and community
interest in the garden. As the garden continues, so continues the opportunity The Ohio Campus Compact AmeriCorps*
for students to experientially explore the complexities of public policies that VISTA Program places and supports VISTAs who
intensify and/or ameliorate issues of hunger in our community. With the create and expand programs designed to bring
garden, students and faculty have a living case study, an individuals and communities out of poverty. VISTAs
outdoor classroom to learn about these issues and act serve in the poorest areas of their communities to
upon them. The connectedness and network of tackle poverty-related problems such as hunger and
partnerships and alliances must continue to expand to homelessness, financial literacy, veteran student
ensure the sustainability of the garden. services, public health and college access. More
information at: www.ohiocampuscompact.org
The Otterbein Community Garden is made possible by generous support from Scott’s Miracle Gro Company, Franklin Park Conservatory, Franklin County, Youth Service America,
AAC&U, Learn & Serve America, Chipotle, Oakland Nurseries, DeMonye’s Greenhouse, and Hoover Gardens.