Farmer’s Market brings healthy options to campus
Sustainability, affordability and localization are not just power words used by businesses to lure in customers anymore. College kids are more aware of the effects their actions have on the environment — and personal health — despite being widely joked as pizza-crazed members of society. Greatest.com, a health and lifestyle website, placed U of L number 16 in their recent article “Healthiest Colleges in America.”
The article emphasizes U of L’s stress relief accommodations. Thirty minute massages, meditation courses, puppies galore during finals–all things that make U of L great and healthy, not to mention the massive gym built last fall.
But the article failed to mention the middle-of-campus farmer’s market on its list.
On the corner of Brandeis Avenue and Third Street, the U of L Farmer’s Market receives massive of foot traffic every Thursday until the second week of October between 3:30 and 6:30 p.m.
It’s a change of pace from the typical U of L environment. Car alarms, police sirens and the habitual passing of trains and planes are the external noises that come with Cardinal territory. Not only does the market contribute to “Keep Louisville Weird” (a business slogan coined to promote local businesses), but it also offers a peaceful aesthetic among the city-structured campus.
Bread winner Laura Buckingham is a University of Louisville alumna who went on to create her own company, Bread & Breakfast. She brings her talents thanks to her inspiring former anthropology teacher, Jeneen Wiche.
“We’re connected in so many ways beyond food. Over the years students have become more sophisticated about what they eat, and they are not as oblivious to the footprint the industrial food system leaves,” says Wiche.
By studying local farming, you are able to see the real cost of food, from trucking to labor–what Wiche calls “true accounting”–that compiles to create something that could be done just as easily at home with a smaller carbon footprint.
For students unsure about local farming or carbon footprints, the Farmers Market is still something to check out for it’s sheer convenience. It’ll save time and effort driving around town to find a farmer’s market, and for those without a car and tired of TARC-ing it to Kroger, you can find fruits, vegetables and produce staples that you would normally get at the supermarket. Here yee! Your searching days are over! Long gone are 30 minute road trips to find farm fresh quality. Oh, and wait for it…
This farmer’s market comes with an affordable price tag.
So treat ya’ self, Cardinals. Slow down this Thursday to enjoy farm-to-table food, a variety of homemade products and the soundtrack of live music.
Photos by Madison Wurth/The Louisville Cardinal
