The Student Garden Club, Sustainable CORE Fellows, TCU Senate and the Tufts University Social Collective collaborated for the third annual farmers market, which was held at the Campus Center on Oct. 4. The market featured local produce and student artwork, along with educational tabling regarding environmental justice and food insecurity at Tufts.
With the purchase of a $5 ticket, students could take home fresh produce from local farms and the on-campus Student Garden, purchase subsidized student artwork through TUSC and visit tables from various student groups on campus, including Engineers Without Borders.
Fresh produce came from local farms like those associated with the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project. It’s “important for students to have access to fresh produce and know where their food is actually coming from,” Jules Lee, a junior and Garden Club’s student maintenance manager, said.
To increase sustainability, the farmers market sourced its food from the Student Garden and New Entry Farms, a Tufts University Friedman School and Nutrition Science and Policy initiative.
“Everything that's not taken is either given back to the dining hall for them to use or composted on campus,” said TCU Historian Caroline Spahr, a junior who has spearheaded the market since her freshman year.
Two main goals of the farmers market are “getting people in touch with local resources,” and making “fresh fruit and vegetables accessible to students,” Sierra Moll, a senior and co-program coordinator of the Sustainable CORE Fellows, explained.
The market was walkable and easily accessible for students, since it was held on the Tufts campus. Moll also highlighted that because the produce was sourced entirely from the Student Garden and New Entry, rather than “big, industrialized agriculture,” the market was sustainable in that way as well.
Spahr started the farmers market in her first year as one of her projects as senator. “I'm from Central Pennsylvania, so there’s a lot of farmers markets where I'm from,” Spahr said. “I kind of wanted to emulate what I have at home and bring it here because that was just something I kind of missed from home.”
“We’ve continued it because it’s extremely successful every single year,” Spahr said.
Caroline Spahr, TCU historian and services committee chair, engages with community members at the farmers market on Oct. 4.
For each market, TUSC brings in around 2,000–3,000 pounds of produce, but they “rarely have stuff left over,” Spahr said. “We definitely keep track of what’s popular and what’s not.”
In recent years, the market has expanded beyond local produce — something Spahr has cited as a great addition. She said bringing student art to the fair was “one of the best things” they have done. “There’s been a lot more collaborations with other clubs,” Spahr said.
She also emphasized that the consistent growth of the farmers market has shown how important it is for Tufts students to have access to fresh locally-grown produce.
In addition to including student art, the market has “a more educational aspect to it now,” Spahr said. A newer goal of the market is to educate students about environmental justice topics such as food deserts and food insecurity through interactive activities.
Lee described how Engineers Without Borders featured an interactive map that depicted the location of food deserts. Food deserts describe areas where residents lack access not only to grocery stores but to stores that have affordable, fresh food.
The Japanese Culture Club was also at the market, sharing recipes for Japanese dishes that are “cheap, easy, and affordable for college students,” Lee said. Access to recipes like these and affordable fresh produce are important to college students who often do not have access to expensive ingredients or the time to cook complex meals.
The Student Garden provided produce from their garden as well, which is located near Harleston Hall. Students can pick their own produce from the Student Garden, and Lee emphasized that a goal of the Student Garden Club is to be “an advocate for raising [discussions of] food insecurity on campus” and they “want students to have access to those green spaces.”
The Sustainable CORE Fellows is a “peer-led student organization that focuses on environmental justice,” Moll said. They work to bring environmental justice and sustainable action to people on campus.
“Environmental justice and sustainability isn’t everywhere,” Moll said. The CORE Fellows also work to promote those same values within student organizations.
Looking toward the future, Spahr said she is now working to ensure the sustainability of the farmers market and make it “part of Tufts culture.”
“We want this to continue, even after I graduate,” Spahr said. The TCU is working with Provost Caroline Genco to institutionalize the market and ensure that it will remain a part of sustainability and food justice efforts at Tufts in the future.
“Cultivating and producing your own food is really magical,” Lee said, and adds that the Student Garden Club wants students to take advantage of that.
TCU President Joel Omolade engages with community members on the Campus Center Upper Patio on Oct. 4.
