Trinity To Launch Educational Farmers Market

In keeping with its core purpose to help students "Discover. Grow. Become," Trinity University is launching an educational farmers market to showcase fresh, locally sourced products and healthy lifestyles while fostering vendor business development and food sustainability in a fun environment.

Starting Saturday, March 26, Trinity will host a variety of farmers, ranchers, and healthy-lifestyle entrepreneurs from the surrounding area every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Envisioned as a community gathering space, the Trinity Market will be a place to bring families, listen to live music, participate in a fitness activity (or two), and do your weekly grocery shopping. The market will be set up in a greenbelt on the northern section of campus adjacent to Hildebrand Avenue. Some of the featured vendors will be Koch Ranches, Revolucion Juice and Coffee, and Mobile Om.

Mitch Hagney '13, CEO of Local Sprout, said of the market, "Giving farmers and undergraduate students a shared venue to interact, while spurring a working marketplace, is bound to create productive collisions that benefit both farmers and students."

The Trinity Market strives to be economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable in response to a growing demand for access to fresh, locally sourced food. The Market is committed to serving low-income and low-access areas in the community and will accept Supplemental Nutritional Assistance (SNAP) benefits as well as Tiger Bucks to encourage weekly participation by community members and students.

The Market was initially funded by a $99,932 grant from the USDA in October that was specifically aimed at Farmers Markets Promotion Programs (FMPP). Most of the grant will be used for development and outreach in addition to student internships for market and vendor marketing programs, vendor business development, and education about local food and issues pertaining to food sustainability.

Luis Martinez, director of Trinity's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, managed the project for more than a year. Senior Hayley Sayrs helped to write the grant, along with help from Christina Verzijl '14, a psychology graduate who is developing a positive body image program for high school students.

Sayrs, who is expected to graduate in May with majors in biology and environmental science, and is the student manager of the market, said she originally envisioned a student-based farmers market. "We are currently working to empower students and community members to make healthy choices while also engaging in a market that is economically supportive of local growers and environmentally sustainable practices."

Other supporters are psychology professor Carolyn Becker and business professor and director of Experiential Learning Jacob Tingle, along with Michelle Bartonico, director of University Marketing and Communications, and Charles White, vice president for Information Resources, Marketing, and Communications.

The Trinity Market will incorporate running, bike riding, cross fit, yoga, zumba, cooking classes, and product demonstrations, as well as information on sustainable gardening and permaculture that will allow customers to grow their own food and adopt water-saving landscape designs.

For more information about the Trinity Market, contact @email or visit www.thetrinitymarket.com or www.facebook.com/TheTrinityMarket or sign up for the newsletter.