Stop by the Campus Farmers Market
A scene from the Campus Farmers Market on the Brickyard. (Photo courtesy of NC State News Services)
It’s Wednesday, which means the Campus Farmers Market is open today! In fact, every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the fall and spring semesters you can stop by the Brickyard to purchase items ranging from watermelon and peaches to summer squash and peas to foaming hand soap and lip balm to eggs and peanut butters. Check out the Campus Farmers Market’s blog for the full range of options. Better yet, stop by to check things out for yourself. Read more about the people behind the market after the jump.
The brain behind the Campus Farmers Market is Eric Ballard ’09. According to the NC State homepage, he opened the market on Earth Day in 2008 and credits current market manager Ariel Fugate for helping grow it. Ariel is a junior in fisheries and wildlife sciences and a member of the Caldwell Fellows, a scholarship program founded by the NC State Alumni Association. In May, she received an Earthwise Award from the NC State Sustainability Office for her work with the market.
According to ncsu.edu, she’s
already planning ways to keep the market going after she graduates. Plans include offering academic credit in agroecology and pursuing a grant that would fund a part-time position. Right now, the market runs on vendor fees and about $300 in student organization funding.
The campus market supports the 10 percent campaign, an effort to get North Carolinians to spend a 10th of their food dollars locally. So far, more than 1,000 people have signed up for the campaign with the Center for Environmental Farming Systems, based at NC State.
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