Products such as pumpkins, soap and salsa will be sold on the North Lawn from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today as part of an on-campus farmers market.
About 20 vendors and five student organizations — including Bubbles Bailey Soap & Stuff, Vito’s Coffee, Little Bitt Nursery and the Flour Pot Bakery — will set up under tents and along the sidewalk, said UF Inter-Residence Hall Association farmers market director Beth Thompson.
The farmers market is part of Eco-Week, hosted by IRHA and UF’s Office of Sustainability. The organizations want to encourage students to live sustainably, and part of that lifestyle is buying local.
Thompson said she hopes the event will allow students to see how simple meal-planning with fresh ingredients can be.
“When you’re a student, you’re only cooking for yourself,” the 19-year-old marketing sophomore said. “The quantity is smaller at a farmers market and cheaper than eating out.”
IRHA put on a similar market in Spring where about 1,000 students stopped by, Thompson estimated. The success of today’s event will determine whether IRHA can reach its goal of sponsoring two to three markets a semester, Thompson said.
“We want to allow students to celebrate local agriculture,” she said.
Many of the familiar vendors from the Union Street Market will be on campus today, including Crazy Hart Ranch, Cross Creek Honey and Bear Bottom Boyz Salsa, Thompson said.
