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This site is a resource for clear information on the current initiative to incorporate free-range chickens into the dynamics of Swarthmore College.

Urban chicken farming is a growing movement that incorporates sustainable small-scale production of eggs into more urban environments than traditional commercial poultry farming. With the rise of local food and slow food movements across the country, many environmentally and food conscious individuals have used urban chicken farming as a way to break the dominance of the commercial food industry and intimately link themselves with local food production.

In the fast-paced and intense academic culture of Swarthmore, many students are never given the opportunity to take an active role in local food production or even think about where their food comes from. As a college with a commitment to sustainability and an existing food initiative that strives to serve local food, we believe it is important that Swarthmore build on these missions and provide students an agricultural experience with livestock and local food production that they would normally never have at Swarthmore. We believe that this experience is an appropriate part of a broader liberal arts education and is necessary to ensure that rural knowledge does not continue to be lost.

Although the project is relatively small, we believe that the project would be a symbol of Swarthmore’s larger commitment to sustainability and be a catalyst for discussion and inquiry into local food and sustainable agriculture, especially in the classroom. Swarthmore already offers a handful of classes that deal with food topics, many of which directly address local food production. Outside the classroom, we plan to provide the College community the opportunity to learn about sustainable agriculture and local food production through the showing of documentaries, guest speakers, regular project demonstrations, and campus events held in conjunction with Good Food Project events.