Students Race to Victory in the Great Veggie Derby
Monday, September 1, 2025From high-speed zucchinis to aerodynamic potatoes, Greenleaf University’s annual Veggie Derby proved once again that sustainability and creativity make for an un-beet-able combination.
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Students at Vegetable University swapped engines for eggplants last Friday during the campus’s much-loved Great Veggie Derby, an annual event hosted by the Sustainable Agriculture Club.
The Derby challenges students to design and race miniature cars made entirely out of vegetables — no metal, plastic, or motors allowed. This year’s contestants carved everything from carrots and cucumbers to pumpkins and potatoes into imaginative racers, each more inventive than the last.
Teams with pun-filled names such as Kale Force One, Lettuce Win This, and Radical Radishes lined up at the start line on the East Lawn, cheered on by dozens of spectators. The crowd erupted in laughter and applause as vegetable creations zoomed, rolled, or occasionally toppled their way to the finish.
Engineering student Alex “Spud” Lin took home the coveted Golden Trowel Trophy after his potato-powered racer, The Mash Express, sped past competitors with a record-breaking time of 4.2 seconds.
“This isn’t just about who’s the fastest,” said Professor Beatrice Chard from the Department of Environmental Horticulture. “It’s about celebrating sustainability, creativity, and the quirky joy of campus life.”
After the race, participants composted leftover vegetables at the university’s garden, ensuring that every veggie had a second life. The day wrapped up with a community potluck featuring dishes like beet brownies, zucchini fritters, and kale cupcakes.
As one student put it, “It’s not every day you see a cucumber on wheels — but at Vegetable University, we like to keep things fresh.”
Categories: Student Events, Uni Events