By Bailey Basham
Fresh, organic goods produced by the Trevecca Urban Farm can now be purchased at a weekly farm stand on campus.
Fruits, vegetables, jams, soaps and salves all grown and produced on campus are available every Thursday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. near the bell tower.
“All of the food, we grew on campus or in one of our campus gardens. We process it ourselves. The jams come from our fruit trees and the berries we grow. The salves come from our beeswax and our herb oils. [All the ingredients] are organic. It’s all ours or most ours that we grew right here on the farm. We pick it, put it together, roll it up the hill and sell it right there,” said Jason Adkins, environmental projects coordinator and director of the urban farm.
Urban Farm staff and volunteers had tossed around the idea of doing a farm stand, but Adkins said farm coordinator Karen Shaw was instrumental in the farm stand’s creation.
“So many people didn’t know about the farm or our products so we thought if we could be more visible more people would know about the farm and what we do,” said Shaw. “We use our own goats milk for our soap and our herbs and beeswax for our salve. As for jams, it’s lots of fruit and organic sugar. I use a very old recipe book published by the farm journal. I’m very careful to follow exactly since being precise is important when canning.”
Shaw has been working on the farm for the past two years. She said her favorite thing from the farm stand is the salve.
“I’ve used it for years and it makes a huge difference in the healing process for scratches and burns. I keep it with me all the time and recommend it often. This summer I discovered it makes mosquito bites stop itching and takes the swelling down in a short time. It’s good stuff,” said Shaw.
Adkins said all the money made from the urban farm stand goes straight back into the farm.
“We’re trying to support the farm staffing with that, so everything we make goes right back into the farm,” said Adkins. “We’ve had students spend a dollar, and we’ve had students spend $50.”
Tabitha Sookdeo, a senior social justice major and volunteer with the Urban Farm, said her interest in helping on the farm came from her her interest in Adkins’s environmental justice class and her own passion for food justice.
“Food security and sustainable community development is something I see myself doing in the future, and working at the farm is great experience,” said Sookdeo.
Sookdeo considers volunteering with the farm her own type of therapy.
“Besides giving my time, I wanted to partake in the restoration of our relation to the Earth, not only through reading about it, but by actually contributing in a meaningful way,” said Sookdeo. “I come from an agricultural background, so this type of work is therapeutic for me. I am able to be part of a spiritual community that truly cares about the Earth, as well as all of creation.”
Sookdeo said her favorite thing the farm stand sells is the tea.
In the case of rain, the market will move inside the Jernigan lobby.
