A growers market, complete with a solar-powered band, a balloonist and more than a dozen local food vendors, will take over Johnson field on Saturday.
Sustainability Studies Program Coordinator Terry Horger, who organized the event, said the growers market emphasizes environmental consciousness and local produce. She said the market is aimed at students because there are other growers markets that target the wider community.
“We really are trying to attract the people from campus, as opposed to, let’s say, the rest of the city,” she said. “We’re really trying to focus on the students, staff and faculty on campus.”
Horger said this will be the only growers market for the fall, but the Sustainability Studies Program plans to make it a weekly event next semester.
“Even though this is a small growers market, and unfortunately it’s the only one we’re having this semester, we’re hoping that by the spring we’ll be having them on a more regular basis,” she said.
The Sustainability Studies Program will partner with La Montañita Co-op to raise funds for future growers markets.
“The thought is that we will sell Co-op memberships, and so for those members … whatever money they spend at the Co-op, 1 percent of their sales will come back to us,” she said.
Bruce Milne, program director of the Sustainability Studies Program, said Sustainability Studies worked for about a month to set up this growers market. He said the program needs additional staff before they can run the market on a weekly basis.
“We’ve had seven of these events so far,” he said. “But to do it on a regular basis means we would have to have a dedicated staff person, so that’s been difficult for us to put together from existing funds.”
He said the funds from the Co-op program will go to hire a staff member to coordinate the growers markets.
Madeline Hastings, who runs Duke’s Raspberry Ranch, will sell raspberries at the growers market Saturday. Hastings will share a booth at the event with her son, who owns Chillz Frozen Custard.
“We combined our products. I grow raspberries, so what we do is use his custard and my raspberries and we make sundaes,” she said.
Horger said the Squash Blossom Boys, a bluegrass band made up of UNM students, will perform at the market. She said they will run their equipment from a solar-powered van the Sustainability Studies Program bought in 2006.
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Horger said the van can power a full band for about two and a half hours.
“We bought a used cargo trailer, and we retro-fitted it with a solar panel,” she said. “They plug all their instruments into the solar powered van, and they’ve got all the power they need.”
Horger said he market will attract students to local growers and encourage them to eat more local food.
“What’s important about the growers market is that we’re trying to bring local, organic food and local vendors onto campus and to teach them about the importance of local food,” she said.
*Lobo Growers Market
Johnson Field
Saturday
9 a.m. – 1 p.m.*
