Sustainable Food Systems

The undergraduate Sustainable Food and Bioenergy Systems (SFBS) program offers an interdisciplinary, hands-on curriculum focused on the ecological, cultural, economic, and health aspects of food and bioenergy systems from production through consumption. The degree plan is intended to prepare and motivate students as agents of change to address society’s most pressing food and bioenergy issues towards sustained environmental and human well-being. SFBS majors choose to focus their coursework in one of three options housed in either the College of Agriculture or the College of Education, Health and Human Development.

Agroecology

Sustainable Crop Production

The College of Education, Health and Human Development houses the Sustainable Food Systems option which focuses on health and consumer issues related to food production and food systems such as food preparation and processing, distribution, nutrition and health, food access and policy. Graduates will receive a Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Food and Bioenergy Systems.

Sustainable Food Systems Curriculum

SFBS students are very hands-on, completing two internships throughout their undergraduate years. In addition to the full infrastructure of a land-grant university (such as a state-of-the-art greenhouse, labs, and kitchen space), students work with sites on and off campus, including:

Towne’s Harvest Garden, a five-acre diversified vegetable and educational research farm
Montana Pollution Prevention Program, a program dedicated to integrating pollution prevention strategies
Buffalo Nations Food System Initiative (BNFSI), an Indigenous-led program that builds collective, collaborative, and proactive capacity for Indigenous food sovereignty
Bounty of the Bridgers, a campus food pantry
Food Product Development Lab, a research lab consulting on product innovations and market testing for food businesses

Students studying SFBS may be interested in Friends of Local Foods, a club that raises awareness for local food systems by engaging with local growers, volunteering with food justice programs, and conducting research.