The Greening Princeton Farmers' Market was established on Princeton's campus to support local farmers, promote local agriculture, and educate students and the community about sustainable food.

| History | Leaders | Ethos | Goals and Benefits | Volunteer Schedule |

History

The Greening Princeton Farmers' market was founded and co-directed by Kathryn Andersen '08 and Ruthie Schwab '09 in the Fall 2007 semester at Princeton University. After three full years of planning, the market was launched for five weeks on Tuesday, September 25th, running through October 23rd from 11am to 3pm on at the Firestone/Chapel Plaza Eight local food producers participated, as well as seven University academic and administrative departments. Twenty student volunteers from Greening Princeton and Princeton Slow Food helped staff the event. The Office of Community and Regional Affairs acted as the primary sponsor. Over 1,000 people attended the market on its opening day, a diverse group ranging from undergraduate and graduate students to departmental secretaries, the Office of the President, professors, members of the community, and others. Due to the extraordinary success of the market, in which it was one of the two most profitable markets in the state of New Jersey and a thriving, popular presence on campus, it will now be a permanent bi-annual event on campus. The market will open for seven-week periods each spring and fall semester.

Leaders

Founded in 2007 by Kathryn Andersen '08 & Ruthie Schwab '09

Fall 2008 Co-directors: Ruthie Schwab '09, Stephanie Hill '10, Emma Hare '10

Ethos

Sustainable food is an emerging value of our generation. Farmers' markets demonstrate the pleasures of food that is healthful to all involved in its production and consumption. They are a visible reminder on campus of the origins of our food. More importantly, a farmers' market is a social space where food is experienced, not simply purchased as occurs in grocery stores. Vendors at our market produce food themselves using entirely organic or sustainable growing methods.

Goals and Benefits

Goals

1. Support local farmers and food producers
2. Promote sustainable agriculture
3. Educate the entire University and community about the importance of food that is delicious and healthful for the environment, the animals and humans who produced it, and the humans who consume it.

Benefits

1. Foster relationships between University and community
2. Encourage students to appreciate sustainable food in a convivial, social atmosphere and to seek out similar models around the world
3. Make sustainable agriculture visible on the campus
4. Reduce distance over which students, faculty, staff, and administrators must travel to purchase healthful, delicious food by making good, clean, fair food accessible on campus
5. Create a model by which a diverse group of departments, students, administrators, and producers come together on Princeton’s campus to achieve a common goal
6. Become a centralized place on campus for dispersal of information about sustainability, both indirectly through food and directly through informational tables

Volunteer Schedule

Schedule coming soon.