From organic nut butters to local meats, Winthrop’s first farmers market encompassed vendors who had a little bit of everything for everyone’s preference. The farmers market was put on by Winthrop’s nutrition department and the student dietetic association. The goal of this farmers market is not short term. In fact, the ultimate goal is to keep having the farmers market at Winthrop during farmers market season, which would be August through November of this year. Another main goal of the farmers market is to get students interested in where their food comes from and to connect the community.
Lauren Cain, a senior at Winthrop who is part of the Student Dietetic Association did all the marketing for the farmers market. She wants the farmers market to act as something that can connect people back to their food.
“[Those involved with creating the farmers market] would like to create a presence on campus for the human nutrition department. We would like to get students to come out here and interact and learn about food and get with the locals,” Cain said.
This was the first farmers market Winthrop has hosted and depending how good turnout was the nutrition department plans to keep it going well into next semester. The nutrition department believes that farmers market can benefit people, the economy and just act as a healthy social event for all people in the community.
“Farmers markets are great because they help bring the community together. They help us put money back into our local economy, they help us promote sustainability, help everyone feel more encouraged to eat their fruits and vegetables and also just [provides] general education of what’s going on in your community,” Cain said.
The interesting thing about Winthrop’s farmers market is that it was started by students and one student in particular, Matt Prater, who spent his time at the farmers market making fresh spinach salads with pecans, goat cheese, beets and his own vinaigrette free of charge for the farmers market attendees. Prater is a human nutrition graduate student who will graduate this upcoming May. As a graduate student, Prater had to do an independent research project and his passion for local farms and seasonal foods led him to plan a farmers market on campus similar to other Universities around South Carolina such as University of South Carolina which already hosts their own farmers market. Prater was able to get in touch with many local farmers and vendors to start Wintrops first and possibly one of many farmers market days.
“It’s [farmers markets] connecting local communities to farms and I think that’s the most important thing because when you think about it local farms can actually help preserve the environment around your community. [Farmers markets] create an environment for animals and ecosystems to thrive,” Prater said.
Prater also stressed the importance of getting food from farmers markets for ethical and nutritional reasons. Prater discussed how local farms treat their animals much better than factory farms do and the food sold at farmers markets tend to be natural and less processed.
“One of the [vendors at the farmers market] I talked to he has a bacon and it’s so funny because he was saying you know you go into a [supermarket] and you get a bacon full of white fat on it and a little sliver of red meat. My bacon is all red meat with a little sliver of fat,” Prater said.
So in all, the nutrition department believes farmers markets are beneficial by teaching the community healthy, ethical eating habits that will only benefit them and their community in the long run. If all goes well and students and the community show interest in continuing the farmers market then Winthrop students should be on the lookout for more market days next semester.
