The boiling sun has kept some indoors during these hot months, but not Augustana sophomores Clayton Wassilik and Eleanor Burnette, who are interning at Augie Acres this summer.
Augie Acres is one of the few student organizations that stay active during the summer months.
According to Dr. Brian Leech, the faculty advisor for Augie Acres, there are typically two students that work for the organization over the summer. This summer they have one full-time intern and one part-time intern.
“During the summer, we’re able to pay our full-time intern thanks to the wonderful support of Dining Services, which has long been supportive of student efforts in local food. That gesture is especially nice because there are simply fewer students around in the summer to help,” said Leech.
According to Leech, Augie Acres is working towards selling their products on campus.
“For the past couple of years, we have sold at the Freight House during the spring and fall too, but this year, we’re going to try to instead invest that same time and effort into selling on campus and hence to students, staff, and faculty,” said Leech.
Full-time intern, Clayton Wassilik, stated that they have sold on campus a few times before, although it hasn’t been very formal.
“Unfortunately a lot of people just know about us over at the Davenport farmer’s market and the garden itself is a little out of the way,” said Eleanor Burnette, Augie Acres part-time intern.
As the organization moves forward, they are hoping to gain a stronger presence on campus to expand their business.

Wassilik has been involved in the organization since his first year at Augustana. Wassilik was in Dr. Chris Strunk’s LSFY class, who volunteered at Augie Acres at the end of the last school year.
He is also responsible for helping set up and sell at the Davenport Freight House Farmer’s Market on Saturday’s.
“To get ready for the Farmer’s market, we come out on Friday and we harvest everything, put it in coolers, bring it back to my house (or a friend’s house). We wash it all up and put it in the refrigerator. The next morning we get up and go out to Davenport, we get there around 7:30 and set up and the market starts at 8 am and we’re there from 8 am to 1pm,” said Wassilik.
The products Augie Acres sell at the market are dependent upon what is ready to harvest on Friday’s, according to Wassilik. There is a large range of vegetables and fruits grown in the garden including: carrots, kale, rutabaga, spaghetti squash, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, beets, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, potatoes, asparagus, pumpkins, acorn squash.

Burnette, who was also in Dr. Strunk’s LSFY class, also helps out with the Farmer’s Market. Specifically, she assists with the financial part of the business due to her background in accounting.
Burnette took part in the part-time teaching internship that partnered with HyVee’s One-Step gardening program. She worked alongside of HyVee’s dietician as well as the kids who participated in the program. 
“We have a garden for them on the lower half of Augie Acres where they planted lettuce and radishes. We planted week one, harvested week five, and taught them how to cook with everything,” said Burnette.
 
Augie Acres has been active in the summer since the ’08-’09 school year, according to Leech. The organization continued to increase its involvement and began selling at the Freight House Farmer’s Market three years ago. Augie Acres also hosts children’s programs for groups from the Broadway Presbyterian Church and the Martin Luther King Jr. Center along with the HyVee One-Step program.