The University has begun looking to its not-so-distant agrarian past by developing a green-minded sustainable future.

For the Savannah Room, a restaurant at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education, Fridays have become the day for sustainable produce and locally-grown culinary delights.

Using fruits and vegetables grown by the University’s organic teaching farm, sustainable entrees are showcased and served for diners.

Part of a program funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and headed by the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the University’s 2-acre organically-certified teaching farm is a hands-on learning facility and houses a profitable and sustainable agricultural entity.

With this funding, which began in 2007, students participating in the program aim to receive a certificate in organic agriculture. Their efforts and scholarship also garner support and awareness for local agriculture and promote a resurgence of modernized sustainable farming practices.

In addition to buying from the University’s organic teaching farm, the staff in the Savannah Room takes a more holistic approach by pooling produce from a conglomerate of Georgia-based farmers to offer a wide range of organic delicacies.

Executive Chef Sam Lorenson and his team have made a commitment to support locally-grown agriculture.

“We work to educate people and let them know about sustainability,” Lorenson said. “But they might buy into that verbiage of good health and good eating without knowing the full meaning.”

Citing the phrase that it is better to “teach someone to fish rather than give them fish,” Lorenson said, “We want to plant the ideas in their heads … it’s a win-win situation – one, for the community, two, for your health, and three, for the cause . and the cause is to be a good steward of the earth.”

Considering the revival of small-scale farming in recent years in conjunction with the burgeoning green movement nationwide, organic and sustainable farming looks to be the agricultural wave of the future, he said. The coordination between the two University entities can only be the beginning.

The effort is a way to “reduce our carbon footprint and buy locally, which ultimately supports the local economy and health of the community,” Lorenson said.

With student, faculty and employee involvement, it seems as though the future may be bright.

“Georgia is poised to be the leader of this movement or trend . to be the right guidance for the rest of us in the community to move forward,” Lorenson said. “And what better name than to have a big

‘G’ behind my back to help guide this modern food philosophy.”