Farmstand continues to grow
The Mac Farmstand opened for the 2016 season in June and starting this year, there is more than just food available.
The student-run farmers’ market, open Wednesdays and Thursdays in the student centre from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., is expanding its service offerings.
“We are this place where people come and buy produce, but a lot of people don’t know how to cook, or a lot of people don’t know what to do with swiss chard or things like that,” said Kaitlyn Zarcone-Beam, Director of Farmstand.
The service is aiming to help students learn what they can make with the food Farmstand sells. To accomplish this, Farmstand is taking a new approach.
Throughout their 2016 operation, Farmstand has created recipe videos in the “Tasty” style made popular by the Facebook page with over 62 million likes. All of the ingredients shown in the videos can be purchased through Farmstand and are locally farmed products.
There has always been an educational component to Farmstand but the organization is more focused on teaching than ever.
“We’ve always had a little bit of advocacy but this year, we’ve really tried to push it. We really want Farmstand to be an educational hub as well. Because it is an MSU service, we don’t want to just be a stand, we don’t want it literally to just be a store,” said Zarcone-Beam.
The service added an Education & Advocacy Coordinator this year to gather information for Farmstand to share when people go to buy products.
Zarcone-Beam explains that the move makes sense because local food is a growing trend as the student population becomes more environmentally conscious.
Local farms that supply to the Mac market include Flamborough, Copetown and Waterford.
Exact details were not immediately available, but the stand moved more food last year than seasons prior and even added debit and credit machines to help meet student demands.
Part of that education stretches to the conversation around local produce and local-organic produce.
In recent years, there has been some negative feedback from customers, questioning why some produce was organic and others were not.
“The difference is one comes from a certified organic farm and the others don’t. But a lot of local farmers can’t afford the organic certification. Those are the types of conversations we have with people,” said Zarcone-Beam.
However, there is more positivity this year. Zarcone-Beam says that people are excited to have Farmstand back on campus.
The seasonal fruits are the top-selling products right now. Strawberries were the main attraction in June and early July, but peaches and concord grades are expected to be popular in July. More recipe videos will be released throughout the summer on their Facebook page. Farmstand will be open throughout the summer until the end of October.
