APSU opens Govs Seed Library to fight food insecurity

By: Alexandra Wills February 17, 2025

Nicole Hart, an AmeriCorps VISTA member currently serving as the sustainability specialist for APSU Community Engagement and Sustainability as part of a yearlong service project. | Photo by Alexandra Wills

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Sustainability efforts and supporting people’s basic needs can be considered counteracting forces, but not at Austin Peay State University’s Community Engagement + Sustainability (CES) office.

In conjunction with the federal AmeriCorps VISTA program, Austin Peay students and staff are using agriculture, sustainable principles and food access to fight hunger on multiple fronts. This includes the newly opened Govs Seed Library, which provides free organic seeds, gardening resources, and educational workshops.

AmeriCorps member Nicole Hart started her year of service as CES’s sustainability specialist with several objectives, including starting a seed library to provide students with access to free vegetable seeds. Starting from scratch, she researched other seed libraries in the state, contacted seed companies for initial donations, and secured educational materials for the project. Her project quickly took shape and the Govs Seed Library launched in time for Valentine’s Day.

Strategically placed at the Support our Students Food Pantry on APSU’s campus, the Govs Seed Library is dedicated to preserving and sharing seeds to promote sustainability and self-sufficiency. Students have access to a wide variety of vegetables, herbs and flower seeds as well as education about germination, seed saving and harvesting produce. Participants are encouraged to collect seeds from their harvest and donate back to the program.

Seed libraries have become a popular collaboration across the country, with more than 600 working to provide their communities with access to free seeds. Benefits of a seed library include helping preserve plant diversity, creating sustainable food systems, reducing seed waste, and encouraging a connection between people and their food.

The SOS Food Pantry provides students with supplemental food during times of special need or crisis. The Govs Seed Library is not the first collaboration between sustainability and food insecurity - other projects include using hydroponic towers to grow fresh greens and upcycling used household items.

For more information, visit apsu.edu/ces or contact Director of Community Engagement and Sustainability Alexandra Wills at 931-221-6591.