From Seedlings to Student Farmers: The Sustainable Student Farm
By Leslie Cooperband, farmer & storyteller
Tucked beside University of Illinois research fields in Urbana, the Sustainable Student Farm serves as a hands-on classroom where vegetables become teaching tools and fields become learning labs. For farm manager Matt Turino, it’s also about helping students gain the confidence and skills to shape the future of local food systems.
Farm History
The Sustainable Student Farm began in 2009 as a student-led initiative rooted in sustainability, education, and local food access. Supported by the University of Illinois Student Sustainability Fund (a campus-wide fee charged to all students to develop sustainability-focused programs) and guided by horticulture professor Bruce Branham and the Crop Sciences Department, the farm started on two acres near the university’s horticulture research plots in Urbana.
From the beginning, students played a central role in every part of the operation. They learned how to grow, harvest, market, and sell vegetables using organic growing practices. Much of the produce made its way directly into University Dining Services meals. The farm quickly became an entry point for teaching student farmers basic growing skills, as well as building their confidence in raising crops that would be eaten by their fellow students.
Matt Turino joined the farm as manager in 2012 after studying horticulture and vegetable production at Warren Wilson College in North Carolina. A former touring musician, Matt had also worked part time at an organic vegetable farm, bringing both agricultural experience and a collaborative spirit to the program.
Under his leadership, the farm expanded its reach with initiatives like the Farm Stand on the Quad, held once a week from May through October; an online store during the pandemic years; a public summer CSA program; and an online native plant sale each June. Today, roughly half of the farm’s produce still goes to University Dining Services, while the rest is sold through the Farm Stand, their CSA, and wholesale buyers like Common Ground Food Co-op in Urbana.
More recently, the farm’s priorities have evolved further toward education and workforce development through a new, one-year certificate program in Small Farm Vegetable Production that combines coursework, field training, and an off-campus farm internship.
Planting Confidence in Each Student
Matt describes himself as a first-generation farmer who simply fell in love with the process of growing food—from planting seeds to sharing meals made from the harvest.
He takes pride in the Sustainable Student Farm as a kind of “gateway” organization, where potential farmers get their first taste of growing food. He also feels like he’s empowering the next generation of farmers who arrive with no skills or confidence, then graduate with solid experience in growing, harvesting, marketing, and selling produce. For some, it’s the first step toward a career in farming or food systems.
In a state dominated by large-scale commodity agriculture, Matt is passionate about showing students and visitors that small farms matter. The Sustainable Student Farm helps break down the misconception that you have to farm big—with big equipment—to be a viable operation.
The Story Behind the System
When Matt leads tours, he loves helping people understand how the farm fits into the broader University food system. Visitors learn how crops move from the fields into dining halls, how the farm extends the growing season using high tunnel production, storage crops, and processing through the university’s food science pilot processing facility.
(Fun fact: the pilot processing plant turns the farm’s tomatoes into pizza sauce—one of their best-selling products, by far. It’s a favorite example of how sustainability, education, and entrepreneurship can all intersect.)
Matt also enjoys introducing visitors to the basics of ecological farming practices, including using cover crops, minimum tillage, and creating wildlife habitat with pollinator strips. Sometimes, the most memorable moments are the simplest ones—like showing someone vegetables growing in the soil for the very first time or explaining why carrots taste sweeter if you leave them in the ground after the first hard frost.
He and his crew regularly give talks and tours to Master Gardeners, school groups, herb societies, agriculture educators, and curious community members.
Unique Farm Experiences
While student training remains the farm’s central focus, the Sustainable Student Farm also creates opportunities for the public to engage with local agriculture in meaningful ways.
Each year, the farm hosts a big open house on the Friday after Labor Day, showcasing all the student farmers’ hard work growing beautiful vegetables alongside ongoing university research projects. A highlight? The gourmet finger foods prepared by University Dining Services chefs using ingredients harvested directly from the farm.
The team also collaborates on special events (like an upcoming farm-to-table dinner at Allerton Park & Retreat Center), hosts 4H youth camps and educational programs, and offers group tours from mid-May through October by request.
Future Plans
Looking ahead, the farm continues expanding its educational mission while remaining rooted in the same goal it started with: helping people understand where food comes from—and inspiring future growers in the process.
Whether you visit for a tour, stop by the Farm Stand on the Quad, or simply enjoy produce grown by student hands, the Sustainable Student Farm offers a hopeful reminder that cultivating food can also cultivate curiosity, community, and lasting change.
CU on the Farm!
Sign up for our CU on the Farm Experience Pass and visit the Sustainable Student Farm (along with 15+ Champaign-Urbana area farms)!