ABQ Stew

Come celebrate Earth Day at the University of New Mexico’s Sustainability Expo & Lobo Growers’ Market. Now in its fifth year, the Expo & Growers’ Market is one of the largest and most popular events on campus. This year it is scheduled to be held on Cornell Mall — just east of the Student Union Building — on Tuesday, April 23^rd from 10 am to 2 pm. Everyone is invited to join in the Earth Day-inspired festivities.

The Expo & Growers’ Market offers a great opportunity to interact with sustainability-minded folks at a variety of engaging displays and activities, including an alternative transportation exhibition, a growers’ market, and a bicycle auction. Learn about sustainable initiatives on campus and in the surrounding community, connect with potential employers, meet local farmers, and enjoy the fun, energetic atmosphere.

The Lobo Growers’ Market portion of the Expo is organized by Sustainability Studies students who are passionate about promoting local farming and small business, and educating campus and community members about sustainable agriculture and healthy food choices. The Lobo Growers’ Market will kick off the upcoming Albuquerque area growers’ market season, and will feature numerous local growers, value-added producers, and prepared foods vendors.

Numerous campus organizations are responsible for coordinat-ing the Expo & Growers’ Market event, including the UNM Office of Sustainability, the UNM Sustainability Studies Program, the Associated Students of UNM, and UNM Parking and Transportation Services. In the spirit of sustainability, the 5^th Annual Sustainability Expo & Lobo Growers’ Market will be a zero waste event supported by Knowaste; we encourage your participation and support.

Can’t wait? Join us for a series of four engaging films on food, agriculture, health and sustainability during the month leading up to the event. The film series aims to raise awareness about food and sustainability, and is hosted by students in the SUST-364 Growers’ Market Practicum course. The film series begins on March 27 and will be held for four consecutive weeks. Check out the schedule!

All in all, we had an excellent series of fall markets on campus. We are grateful for the vendors who were consistently a part of the market, including the Agri-Cultura Network, Beall’s Salsa, Corrales Orchards, Feed the Hood Farms, Granja Para Mañana, Le Paris Bakery, Leigh’s Blue Corn, Moore Family Farms,  My Tepache & Bee Chama Honey, Skarsgard Farms, South Valley Soap, Urban Orchards, Vida Verde Farm, Ye Ole Kitchen Witch and Zulu’s Petals Organic Farm. Thank you to all who participated! And, much gratitude to all of our customers, who helped make the market a success. We are looking forward to offering the fall series of markets again in 2013.

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At the last market we had a small celebration for the vendors and volunteers. Jay Wheeler, of South Valley Soap, brought his life-changing cinnamon rolls (truly, there are!) and handed out gift bags of lavender blue cornmeal and horchata soaps. Thank you, Jay, for being such a kind and thoughtful person!

In the spring semester we will hold the 5th Annual Sustainability Expo and Lobo Growers’ Market on April 23, 2013. This event will be organized by the SUST-364 Growers’ Market Practicum students. So – you will continue to see one Lobo Growers’ Market in spring 2013, and another six in the fall semester. Stay tuned for more info… And – thanks for all of your support of the local foodshed!

Join us for the last market of the season on UNM campus. We’ll be having a seed swap to celebrate! Bring seeds to share, and go home with some new varieties for next season’s garden.

Heads up: Get ready for a seed swap at our last market event on October 3. Bring seeds to share, and go home with some new varieties for next season’s garden.

It’s now officially fall, and harvest season will be wrapping up with cooler October nights. Hopefully the first frost is still a few weeks away… Enjoy the fall bounty while it lasts!

Thanks, Daily Lobo staff, for your coverage of the Sustainability Studies Program’s fall series of growers’ market!

After the first market in August, the campus newspaper ran a front page spread: Market brings local produce to campus.

A sustainability course at UNM inspired a student to start her own farm and sell her produce at an on-campus growers market.

The Lobo Growers Market began in 2007 as an annual on-campus growers market in an effort to help students eat healthy, but it has become a six-week, student-run event. UNM students who enrolled last spring in Growers Market Practicum (SUST 364), a course that focuses on the economic and social benefits of growers markets, manage the growers market this fall. Vendors at the market sell locally grown produce such as green apples, garlic, eggplant, broccoli and squash. Read more…

The Daily Lobo ran another piece in September – Recipes enrich outreach effort – that covered the second market event, which had a “recipe-swap” theme.

Whether it’s sliced fruit mixed with Greek yogurt, or your mother’s homemade green-chile cheese enchiladas, recipes for great dishes are meant to be shared.

UNM’s Lobo Growers Market held a recipe swap Wednesday, encouraging students and vendors to share their favorite recipes. The recipe swap was part of the six-week market series featuring fresh food and produce. Student market manager Kimberly Barnett said the event tries to help students eat healthier. Read more…

We’d also like your feedback about the growers’ market. Let us know the products and growers you’d like to see at the market in the future. Give us some ideas for engaging market themes. Tell us how we can spread the word and get more students, staff and faculty to attend the Lobo Growers’ Market. Would you like this six-week series of markets to become a fall tradition on campus, or do you prefer a one-time special event?

Join us at the fourth market of the season. You know it’s fall in New Mexico when you smell roasting green chile!

Come on out to the third market of the fall season to learn about local foodshed initiatives on UNM campus.

Bring a recipe…take a recipe at the second of six Lobo Growers’ Markets on main campus tomorrow!!

Also, check out today’s article in The Daily Lobo, Market brings local produce to campus.

Heads up: Get ready for a recipe swap at our next market event. More details to follow.

Join us next Wednesday, September 5 for the second Lobo Growers’ Market of the fall semester. The market will be held from 10am to 2pm on Cornell Mall, in the grassy triangle between Johnson Gym and the bronze statues just south of the SUB (see map).

The first in our series of six growers’ markets went off without a hitch. There was a lot of interest and excitement on the part of UNM students, staff and faculty who visited the market, which was themed Farmer Appreciation Day. The campus community showed its appreciation for farmers’ hard work and delicious produce by signing personal messages on a colorful banner.

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Twelve vendors sold fresh fruits and veggies, bread, honey, jam, salsa and hand-made body care products. The produce was grown within a 100-mile radius of Albuquerque, and the value-added items were made in Albuquerque using some local and/or organic ingredients. The vendors were pleased with both the venue and their sales, and all will be back next week. We’ll also have a few new additions, so stay tuned…

At the next market we’ll be having a recipe swap. It’s easy to participate. Type or write legibly your favorite recipe (preferably one that uses fresh, seasonal produce) on a note card-sized piece of paper. Bring the recipe with you to the market and – voila! – exchange it for a new one. You’ll be able to impress your friends with your newfound culinary skills. From the second market on out we’ll have a collection of recipe cards available for customers to take home. Just stop by the Lobo Growers’ Market info table anytime during the event.

Don’t forget your cash and your reusable bag. See you there! EAT SMART, BUY LOCAL, BE LOBO.

EAT SMART, BUY LOCAL, BE LOBO!

Join us on Wednesday, August 29 for the first in our six week series of Lobo Growers’ Markets. The market will be held from 10am to 2pm on Cornell Mall, in the grassy triangle between Johnson Gym and the bronze statues just south of the SUB (see map). You’ll see the following vendors at all six market events:

Farm Fresh Goodies
Corrales Orchards – peaches and apples
Granja Para Mañana – tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, peppers
Moore Family Farms – eggs, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, chile
Project Feed the Hood – squash, tomatoes, chile, cucumbers
Skarsgard Farms – melons, tomatoes, chile, eggplant, leeks, peppers, garlic
Zulu’s Petals Organic Farm – apples, onions, chile, garlic, flowers

Local Value-Added Products
Beall’s Salsa – fresh salsa
Le Paris Bakery – baguettes and pastries
My Tepache & Bee Chama Honey – aguas frescas and honey
South Valley Soap – handmade soaps
Urban Orchards – fruit jams and spreads
Ye Ole Kitchen Witch – body care products

This week’s market theme is Farmer Appreciation, so come support your local growers and let them know how much you value their hard work and delicious produce! As an added bonus, the first 15 customers to make purchases at the market will receive a La Montañita Co-op reusable shopping bag. See you there!