Students craving fresh local produce in the spring are now in luck. Though the farmer's market on Wriston Quadrangle has been a fall event since 2005, the University decided to establish a spring farmer's market for the first time this semester. The spring market began April 7 and will run through May 5.
The spring market reflects a collaboration between Brown Dining Services, the Sustainable Food Initiative and Farm Fresh Rhode Island, a non-profit organization founded by students in 2004. These same groups initially brought the fall market to campus in 2005.
"The original goal (of Farm Fresh Rhode Island) was to create more retail opportunities for local growers, more business-to-business opportunities, more opportunities for the general public to find out how to find farm stands and farmer's markets and also to provide access for lower income families to local food," said Sheri Griffin, program director at Farm Fresh Rhode Island. The organization now manages eight of the 44 farmer's markets in Rhode Island, including the markets at the University, Griffin added.
The spring farmer's market — which began three weeks ago — has not yet experienced as much business as the fall market, but has still been successful, said Lucy Sedgwick '11.5, real food initiative progress coordinator for dining services.
"The fall market is more popular than the one going on right now because it has been going on for a long time," she said. "Also, there is more of a supply in the fall because of the seasons here."
Though more goods are produced in the summer for the fall sale, "there are also things that grow in Rhode Island year round or things that can be stored," Griffin said. "It is good for farmers to have a year-round income."
Ten vendors are currently participating in the new market, compared to 12 in the fall. Mark Phillips, a vendor who owns Absalona Greenhouse in Chepachet said he grows produce all year round and has trouble finding venues in the spring. He said he appreciates the business this new market brings.
Griffin said it is still too early to judge the success of the spring market. "It's not like a grocery store — it's not always there, so you have to form a habit of going," she said. "We need to give it some time."
The Sustainable Food Initiative — a student group now under the purview of the environmental group emPower — also teams up with local producers to provide a weekly supply of food to shareholders as part of the group's Market Shares Program, said Mary Alice Reilly '13, a sustainability intern with Dining Services and a member of Sustainable Food Initiative. The program "gives people a chance to eat seasonally and to experiment with different kinds of food they might otherwise not," she said. This spring season, there are 91 participating shareholders. The program is "dope," said Dash Spiegelman '13, who volunteers with Market Shares.
The initiative is now looking into establishing a year-round shareholder program in addition to a winter farmer's market. The initiative currently provides produce to the Brown community during the winter through Market Mobile, a website that distributes produce throughout the city. While the Undergraduate Council of Students supported the creation of a winter farmer's market last semester, the produce supply is more limited during that time of year, Sedgwick said.
The initiative to bring year-round farmer's markets to campus is a student-led idea, Griffin said. "We haven't had enough time to plan a whole winter program, so we compromised with Brown Dining and student groups and said we'll start small and see how it goes," she said. "We will keep reviewing indoor spaces at Brown that we could possibly use next winter if demand and interest are there." A possible location for a winter's farmer's market would be the Multipurpose Room in the Stephen Robert '62 Campus Center.
Though produce at the farmer's market is generally more expensive than in the supermarket, there are countless benefits, Sedgwick said. "You're paying for the experience. Food you get locally can be healthier. You're also supporting your neighbors, you're putting money into the local economy where you can see it coming back to you. You're supporting local business," she said.
"The spring market is quieter than the fall, but it is great that it's here on campus," said Anna Matejcek '12. Matejcek, who is also a shareholder, is off meal plan and enjoys the benefits of the program. "Although you can't get everything you want," she said, "it's cool because you don't know what will be in your bag every week."
