Growing Knowledge. Cultivating Community.
The Student Farm serves as a physical space for learning, collaboration, and community engagement. It supports hands-on education, sustainability initiatives, and food access efforts while providing a home for programs, student involvement, and partnerships connected to food systems and environmental stewardship. The farm also creates opportunities for students and community members to connect through shared experiences centered around food, learning, and care for the environment.
A Space to Grow
The Student Farm is a four-acre diversified vegetable market farm featuring six growing fields and six high tunnels. Nearly 200 varieties of vegetables, herbs, and flowers are cultivated throughout the year to support hands-on learning, sustainability, food access efforts, and student engagement across the Penn State community.
Sustainable Farming in Practice
The Student Farm uses sustainable growing practices that support healthy soil, biodiversity, and long-term environmental stewardship. Across the farm’s growing spaces, students and staff cultivate a wide variety of vegetables, herbs, and flowers while using low-till methods, crop rotation, and integrated pest management strategies that reduce environmental impact and promote healthy ecosystems. Soil health and sustainability guide day-to-day operations, creating a hands-on learning environment where students can explore agriculture, food systems, and responsible farming practices in action.
Visiting the Farm
The Student Farm is a shared space for learning, collaboration, and hands-on discovery. Students, classes, and community groups are invited to explore the farm through tours and volunteer experiences that encourage connection, creativity, and new perspectives around sustainability and food systems. Whether arriving by foot, bike, bus, or car, visitors are welcome to engage with the farm in ways that fit their group’s interests and goals.
Tours and volunteer opportunities are flexible and typically last one to two hours. Advance notice helps the team coordinate staffing and create the best possible experience for your group.
-
HOLD
-
HOLD
-
HOLD
Getting to the Student Farm
The Student Farm is located on Penn State’s northern campus near the intersection of West Big Hollow Road and Fox Hollow Road. The farm is accessible by walking, biking, car, or CATA bus, making it easy to visit from campus or downtown State College.
Visitors driving to the farm should use Fox Hollow Road, while those walking or biking from campus are encouraged to use West Big Hollow Road near the Intramural Fields. Bike racks and a Lyft bike docking station are available near the main entrance, and sustainable transportation options are encouraged whenever possible.
-
Parking is available for visitors at the Student Farm. Guests may use any valid Penn State parking permit, or pay the standard hourly rate through the HONK app using zone PSUCRF. Downloading the app before your visit is recommended to make arrival easier.
Groups interested in arranging parking in advance can coordinate directly with Transportation Services. Overflow parking is also available when the main lot is full. After parking, visitors should enter through the central farm gate located near the Ross Farm sign along Big Hollow Road.
-
HOLD
-
The Student Farm partners with Meals on Wheels of State College to connect gardening, fresh food, and community care. Through projects such as the Bucket Gardens initiative, students help grow plants for Meals on Wheels participants, creating opportunities for connection while supporting the well-being of local older adults and people with disabilities.