Farmer’s market returns with more produce

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Grace Huseth

Food doesn’t get much more local than when you can find fresh and local products including meat, baked goods and produce right on campus.

The Campus Farmer’s Market will be held three times this semester today, April 2 and April 16 in the William’s Center Plaza from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The University Wellness Program and Center for Sustainability have partnered again with Main Street Statesboro Farmer’s Market to bring back Campus Farmer’s Market for the second year.

The goal is to allow students to get quality food on campus while supporting local farmers, Michele Martin, University Wellness Program director said.

The majority of the market will feature seasonal produce by vendors Honey Dew Farms, Jacobs Farm and Berry Farms. However there are other food products as well. Students can get pastas and pizza dough from Frail Gourmet, cornmeal and grits from Freeman’s Mill, cakes and breads from Sugar Magnolia, cheese from Southern Swiss Dairy and honey from B and G.

Students can get lunch from Hunter Cattle which will grill sausage dogs, grass-fed burgers and pork sausage on site.

Hunter Cattle from Brooklet will serve lunch as special three-pound packages of meats designed specifically for GSU students.

The special GSU packs include a pound each of bacon, sausage and ground beef for $20, a discount when considering that each meat averages at $8 a pound, Kirstan Fletwell, marketer for Hunter Cattle, said.

The pork sausage that recently won “Flavor of Georgia” will likely be the most popular amongst students, Fletwell said.

“Whenever we can help the university with workshops for the farmer’s market we are really happy to have the opportunity to give back,” Fletwell said.

Berry Farms, located outside of Vidalia, will have a booth at the Campus Farmer’s Market for the first time this spring.

“We’ve gone to the one in Statesboro, but this is our first time at the GSU farmer’s market,” Stacey Berry, of Berry Farms, said.

Berry Farms grows certified organic fruits and vegetables with such variety that the current list of fresh produce must be updated weekly, Berry said.

Freeman’s Mill located in Statesboro will bring white and yellow grits, cornmeal, flour and a few baked goods like apple tarts for students to purchase.

Freeman’s Mill, just south of GSU’s campus, features a 120-year-old stone mill that grinds products that are entirely whole grain. Students will be able to try samples of prepared grits and cornbread from the stone mill at the Freeman’s Mill stand at the Campus Farmer’s Market, Stacey Freeman, owner of Freeman’s Mill, said.

“You can feed a whole bunch of students with just grits and water,” Freeman said.

Freeman said that while grits are the top seller, many GSU students like the hushpuppy mix as well. All they have to do is add buttermilk to make simple hushpuppies.