The Farmers Market at BYU–Hawaii brings campus and community together for fresh foods, flavors and home grown products in an effort to be more sustainable and self-sufficient.
In Fall 2009 BYU–Hawaii welcomed its first official farmers market on campus. The market offered fresh, home-grown produce to students as well as the surrounding communities. What started as a modest gathering of greengrocery matured into a local hotspot for a variety of low-cost, farm-fresh ingredients. Seeing a need for well-portioned, non-processed goods, BYU–Hawaii introduced a bi-monthly market that offered something for practically anyone in the region. Every other Friday the Aloha Center entertains hundreds of customers in addition to a handful of local vendors looking to share a bit of their innovation. “The coconut peanut butter and bread pudding at the farmers market are amazing,” says Steve Smith, a sophomore studying exercise science. “Even though they don’t mix, I’ll probably have them for lunch tomorrow.”
Products sold at the market include herbs, baked goods, produce, soap, vermicast, spices, and a number of chef plates that are either grown or created on campus. “The Farmers Market is a huge part of our Sustainability Program on campus,” explained David Keala, Director of Food Services, “It highlights our efforts to become sustainable. Besides local produce we also sell products from our own garden as well as our own soap, vermicompost, fresh plants for starters, and more.” In addition, a number of local vendors including China Town noodle, North Shore Goodies, Cackle Fresh Egg Farm, Maui Pineapple, and Sun Noodle, just to name a few, contribute to the products available. New vendors are welcome as well – Ono Empanadas and Ondapasta recently began selling their goods at the BYU–Hawaii Farmers Market this semester.
While customers can always expect to purchase fresh produce and bread, the special plate lunch offered is unique each time. The plate lunch created by the university’s very own Chef Tan highlights foods from all regions of the world. Kirin Tamang, a sophomore studying music, said, “The Farmers Market here is different than other ones I have been to. I love that I can try foods that I haven’t heard of before, and that have a variety of flavors.”
The Farmers Market takes place every other week on Fridays from 10:30 AM to 2:00 PM, and is located in the Aloha Center on the BYU–Hawaii campus. It is open to the entire university ‘ohana and surrounding communities.
Find out more about BYU–Hawaii at about.byuh.edu.