MSU Farmstand Opens Today! - MacInsiders - Student-run McMaster University Help Forum

**lorend**

Via the Daily News:

A student's passion for local food has resulted in the establishment of a mini farmer's market at McMaster University.

"It's a completely not-for-profit venture," says Mary Koziol, president of the McMaster Students Union (MSU), "but it's a start in terms of offering healthy and local options to those who study and work at or visit the McMaster campus. The ability to provide fresh produce on campus will really encourage students to do their own cooking and consume more fruits and vegetables."

The idea was brought forward by students last year, and Koziol decided to make it part of her platform when she ran for MSU president.

The Ottawa-native has patronized farmer's markets for many years and wanted to see how the concept would work in a campus environment.

"I'm excited that it's coming together," she says. "This has meant bringing several partners to the table - the MSU, McMaster University's Hospitality Services, the Office of Sustainability and of course the farmers - and so it's something all of us want to succeed."

The farmer's market will debut August 26. Depending on the growing season, the market will run each Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. until mid October. Farm produce will be delivered to the oval in front of University Hall where McMaster students will operate the stands.

Local farms participating are Simpler Thyme in Flamborough, Two Century Farm in Grimsby, and Busy Liz's Farm Shop in Campbellville.

Produce for sale will vary depending on the growing season but Koziol says it will include lots of fruit, particularly peaches, a wide variety of vegetables, and preserves such as honey, jams, and maple syrup. Recipes will be available, as will information on the importance of supporting locally-grown food.

Volunteers to help run the stand are welcome. Those interested can contact the Farmstand Director, Andrew Chong, at [email protected] r.ca.

RyanC · 08-26-2010 at 08:39 AM

Cooool! I'll be sure to check it out! I was eating at least one fruit a day at Mac, now I get variety, yay?

jhan523 · 08-26-2010 at 10:25 AM

Sounds interesting, I'll definitively be checking this out.

stevennevets · 08-26-2010 at 01:59 PM

I dropped by, it was awesome, tasty fresh fruit and veggies, awesome prices

MacPack · 08-26-2010 at 03:33 PM

Nice I was planning on shopping at my local farmers market before I came down.

rawnbr · 08-27-2010 at 09:55 AM

This is a really great idea! I will be sure to shop there. Glad to see things moving forward especially at our amazing school. Great Job to everyone involved!!

paperplanes · 08-27-2010 at 10:43 AM

yay sounds good

hope there's still the good food baskets too

LazyNinja · 08-27-2010 at 11:33 AM

Does anybody know if they managed to get this hooked up to the Mac meal plan? I asked at Horizons and the reps said they were working on it, but weren't sure if they'd be able to manage it.

mike_302 · 08-27-2010 at 12:48 PM

I'mma be the "Debbie Downer" here: Was this really more important than working with the school to change the e-mail system? Really? Was the area around McMaster so outdated that it didn't have grocery stores that would suffice to provide us with fruits and vegetables? Although there are only positive remarks towards this, visible right now, I guarantee that if you had a pie chart of "Percent who are passionate about fresh fruits + veggies on campus" Vs. "Percent who are passionate about the unacceptably poor email system is at Mac", you would get something like Pac man with his mouth damn near closed.... And, hint: the little sliver of his mouth isn't the passionate-email-population.

My opinion though: Worth about as much as a handful of dirt in Saskatchewan.

zeChinaman · 08-27-2010 at 12:57 PM

The Good Food Box is run through Mac Bread Bin, so presumably will be unaffected by the Farmstand

zeChinaman · 08-27-2010 at 01:05 PM

Though not directly about the email system, the topic of Farmstand vs MUGSI/SOLAR has been discussed before here. Huzaifa actually put it quite nicely:

Quote:

Originally Posted by huzaifa47

Also, Farmers Market Vs MUGSI Solar are not opportunity cost issues in financial sense; The costs to hire students and set up the whole thing is just a tiny speck compared to the investment required for MUGSI. Even if the MSU were to "donate"(Which a student union should refrain from) to the Administration, it would hardly improve anything in the overall picture. So the issue is more about advocacy and putting pressure concerning SOLAR.

But I don't know if the MUSS/Univmail system is connected to MUGSI/SOLAR in any way shape or form.

sew12 · 08-27-2010 at 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike_302

I'mma be the "Debbie Downer" here: Was this really more important than working with the school to change the e-mail system? Really? Was the area around McMaster so outdated that it didn't have grocery stores that would suffice to provide us with fruits and vegetables? Although there are only positive remarks towards this, visible right now, I guarantee that if you had a pie chart of "Percent who are passionate about fresh fruits + veggies on campus" Vs. "Percent who are passionate about the unacceptably poor email system is at Mac", you would get something like Pac man with his mouth damn near closed.... And, hint: the little sliver of his mouth isn't the passionate-email-population.

My opinion though: Worth about as much as a handful of dirt in Saskatchewan.

Its not even just the e-mail system, or MUGSI or what have you. Was this really the most important student issue overall that the new President could have focused on?

I don't see how locally grown fruits and vegetables and what have you are the thing the MSU President should be most concerned about.

Its a shame that one of the first things we actually see a President accomplish as promised is this.

Is it too late and ask for a recount of the votes for the election? I'm still kind of shocked she won.

Lois · 08-27-2010 at 01:55 PM

It's definitely too late for a recount. I was there during the ballot count and the Elections Committee was very good about making sure that all ballots were accounted for (two people checking each box, scrutineers from many campaigns, if the numbers didn't add up to the number that the poll clerk reported it was recounted).

I wasn't on Mary's campaign team but her platform was one that was feasible for the duration of her term as MSU President. It's a convenient way to eat healthy while supporting local farmers in the region (v.s. grocery stores which often have produce from other countries). I haven't checked out the prices, but the cost of fruit at Commons/La Piazza is ridiculously expensive if the prices are "awesome" like Steven says, it'll provide students with healthy options at affordable prices.

andrew22 · 08-27-2010 at 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sew12

Is it too late and ask for a recount of the votes for the election? I'm still kind of shocked she won.

that unhappy with her already? : (

sew12 · 08-27-2010 at 02:15 PM

I was kidding about the recount for the record. I'm sure she won fair and square, I just didn't expect her to win and I didn't necessarily like her platform much.

I'm not overly unhappy with her, I just don't see how this was an important issue and its one she really focused on and its the first one she completed.

Last I checked this was a school and fruits and veggies aren't really a top of the totem poll issue to me in regards to education and this school.

Its not a bad idea but it just seem frivolous to me and something not as important to students as other issues.

There seems to be lots of positive comments on it though so maybe I'm wrong and people do see it as a good thing.