Chris Scofield of Cornercopia Student Organic Farm sells fresh broccoli to a University of Minnesota student Wednesday. MURPHY NEWS SERVICE PHOTO BY ELLEN SCHMIDT
By ELLEN SCHMIDT/Murphy News Service
Students, staff, and University of Minnesota campus passersby convened near McNamara Alumni Center Wednesday for the weekly Farmers Market to buy fresh produce and other homegrown goods.
The cash-only market features food trucks, U food groups and local vendors selling items such as produce, flowers and honey. Church Street was home to the University’s farmers market in previous years, but construction forced the market to move to a spot outside of the McNamara center.
Some vendors said the move has been good for business.
“I think the visibility is better and there is more traffic,” Jeff Nistler, operator of Nistler Farms in Maple Plain, said. “It’s just a better location.”
Nistler has been selling corn, melons, squash and fresh honey since the market opened eight years ago. International students frequent the market, he said, and buy a hefty amount of his honey.
Sophie Jiang, a sophomore from China majoring in nutrition, bought honey from Nistler’s stand in addition to some fresh fruits and vegetables from other stands.
“Well I don’t have a car and the market is close to my apartment,” Jiang said. “A lot of the vegetables are similar to what I have at home.”
The U’s Farmers Market is open every Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside of the McNamara Alumni Center. MURPHY NEWS SERVICE PHOTO BY ELLEN SCHMIDT
Students aren’t the only people to visit the campus-central market. The farmers market has been open every Wednesday since July 8, and brought in locals and people who work in the area during the summer, Teresa Silva, of Country Lane Farms, said.
Now with school back in session, more students are buying their produce here, Chris Scofield, senior food systems major, said. Scofield is part of the Cornercopia Student Organic Farm, which cultivates a five-acre organic farm on the U’s St. Paul campus. The group sells its produce at the market to break even, he said, and then brings the leftover product to the Campus Club located in Coffman Memorial Union.
After the 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. market ends, Scofield said he would pack up and move to the St. Paul campus for a 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. market.
Reporter Ellen Schmidt is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota.