Krishna Lunch begins serving its own organic produce

Monday through Friday, hundreds of people gather on the Plaza of the Americas to stand in line for Krishna Lunch.

Krishna Lunch has begun featuring foods grown organically in a local garden, maintained by the group’s members.

In mid-Spring, Krishna devotees began planting a garden about 20 minutes north of UF’s campus, said Dhristadyumna “Dennis” Das, the 34-year-old temple commander for the Gainesville Krishna House.

The garden, located at 13700 U.S. Highway 441, had been empty for about eight years until the owner offered the land to Gainesville’s Hare Krishnas, Das said.

Das is known for serving beverages at Krishna Lunch, calling out the names of those who pass by.

Using the property, about three-fourths of an acre in size, the group has planted lettuce, kale, okra, zucchini, cucumber, eggplant and more, Das said.

“Most people don’t know where their food comes from,” Das said. “This is local and fresh.”

For a few weeks during Summer A, 70 to 90 percent of the lettuce served at Krishna Lunch was grown in the garden, Das said.

He said organic eggplants will soon be ready to be served with lunches every Tuesday until November.

Diners may not know where Krishna Lunch currently gets its produce, but that has not stopped some students.

“I trust them enough to know they have good ingredients,” said Aria Nguyen, an 18-year-old UF dietetics sophomore who said she eats Krishna Lunch every Wednesday.

Nguyen said she loves the healthy food options at Krishna Lunch, but that’s not why she enjoys the experience so much.

“The food is the whole reason I came, and I stayed for the people,” Nguyen said.

She said she hopes the garden expands and produces more fresh ingredients, as more students would be likely to eat Krishna Lunch.

“Krishna changed me,” she said. “I have a different view on food, the environment and animals now.”

Currently, the ingredients are delivered by Cheney Brothers and Taylor Farms, Das said.

He said the garden will not raise the price of Krishna Lunch. It may actually be cheaper to grow organic produce than to purchase it from a distributor.

Das said the hope is students will start to drive north to the garden to help grow the foods they will eventually eat.

Part of the Hare Krishnas philosophy is an agrarian and sustainable lifestyle, reflected in the farming, he said.

“Simple living, high thinking,” Das said. “Yeah, definitely quote that.”