University of Kentucky students formed lines on the Hilltop Lawn for the third annual Wildcat Market hosted by UK South Farm Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).
Sponsored by the Student Activities Board (SAB) and the Student Government Association (SGA), the event allowed students to pick $12 worth of produce grown by the Organic Farming Unit at South Farm for free on Wednesday, Sept 11.
Starting at 3 p.m., students went through the lines picking the produce they wanted like watermelons, tomatoes, flowers, peppers and garlic.
SAB Director of Campus Engagement Cayla Barreiro, a senior political science major, said this was the third consecutive year Wildcat Market had been held on campus. She said SGA, SAB and CSA had been planning the event for a year.
“It’s been very popular in the past few years,” Barreiro said. “We’ve had hundreds of students attend and be very happy with the selection of produce.”
One aspect the planning process focused on was what produce students would enjoy and what would be in season.
Bouquets of flowers were a popular item among those who visited the market. Four freshmen, Hope Stout, Arwa Abd, Hunter Mays and Erin Ross all got flowers when they went through.
They said they learned about the event through Abd, a neuroscience major and Ross, who is majoring in communication sciences and disorders.
Mays, a biology major, said he got flowers for his mom.
“It (the event) definitely brings communities together,” Mays said. “It’s very resourceful for those who may not be able to get out to get food and stuff.”
Junior dietetics major Jalyn Lee lives off-campus, but said she felt like the market was especially helpful for students living in dorms to get fresh and healthy food.
“Their accessibility to food is a lot more limited since there’s just the dining hall and Chick-Fil-A and Subway and stuff like that,” Lee said. “So I think it gives them a good opportunity to get creative with finding food options and then seeing what they can make with it.”
Lee got radishes and peppers at the market and said she planned on making a salad with them.
“I loved it, I definitely want to go back next year if they have the event,” Lee said.
Kristi Durbin, staff in the Department of Horticulture, manages the CSA program. Durbin said the produce at the market, all supplied by CSA, is certified organic by the United States Department of Agriculture.
She said the CSA project started in 2007 and that supplying for Wildcat Market in previous years has been a success.
“We teach students to learn how to farm … as part of that process we connected with SAB and SGA and I was really encouraged by their innovation and their vision to bring this produce to the students,” she said. “I listen to feedback from the students and try to incorporate that into our crop planning for the year.”
SGA Director of Sustainability Caity Weaver said UK sustainability efforts were very involved in Wildcat Market.
The Student Sustainability Council was also tabling near the market, Weaver said.
“For students who know what sustainability is … they love coming here because they know they’re supporting great organic produce made locally,” Weaver said. “For students who don’t know the sustainability implications, they are still greatly supporting our program here and giving us the opportunity to do this for even more years to come.”
