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Check Tufts Dining website for the latest info on the Tufts farmers’ market and their other sustainability initiatives.

History of the Tufts Farmer’s Market

Tufts Dining News Release

Farmers Market Comes to Campus

MEDFORD, MA 2010– A weekly farmers’ market will make its debut on the Tufts Medford/Somerville campus on Wednesday, September 8, and will continue through October 27. Located on the lower patio on the Talbot Avenue side of the Mayer Campus Center, the Farmers’ Market hours are 11am-2pm. The market will feature locally grown, seasonal vegetables and fruit including corn, heirloom tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, arugula, squash, potatoes, green onions, leeks, broccoli, peppers, cantaloupe, ground cherries, honey, and baked goods.  Additional vendors will be featured each week.

After a successful single-day Farmers Market in October 2009, Dining Services chose to partner with the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, a program run by the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts, and UTEC-Lowell, and the NESFP** to provide a weekly format.  The mission of the Farmers Market is to supply the Tufts community with access to fresh seasonal vegetables and fruit; improve nutritional literacy; and to support local farms and businesses.

The NESFP is one of 5 projects areas covered by the Friedman School’s’ Center on Agriculture, Food and the Environment (CAFÉ) which offers educational programs and community service opportunities-conducting research in the areas of sustainable agriculture practices, environmental policy, food systems and consumer behavior related to food and the environment.  NESFP partners with the United Teen Equality Center (UTEC) of Lowell, whose mission is to ignite and nurture the ambition of Lowell’s most disengaged young people to trade violence and poverty for social and economic success.  www.utec-lowell.org.

Dining Services works hard to find economic ways to lessen their impact on the planet and to be socially responsible.  By providing a weekly farmers market, they hope to draw attention to delicious, nutritious, fresh vegetables that students may not eat on a regular basis.  With nearly 1/3 of the undergraduate population living on campus, this on-campus resource is expected to be popular with students who reside in apartments and suites.  The department hopes that faculty and staff will find the market to be a valuable resource to them as well.