Farmers' Markets at Goucher This Fall

Release date: September 18, 2009 |

In keeping with the ongoing emphasis on raising awareness about environmental sustainability—including how food choices affect the global ecosystem—Goucher and Bon Appétit Management Company, the college’s food services provider, will host a series of farmers’ markets throughout the fall semester.

The dates will be:
• Friday, September 4
• Friday, September 18
• Friday, October 16
• Friday, October 30
• Friday, November 6
• Friday, November 20

The markets will be held 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the courtyard at the Alumnae/i House, and they open to students, faculty, and staff, as well as members of the greater community. Go to http://www.goucher.edu/documents/campusmaplow.pdf to see a campus map.

Food in the United States travels an average of 1,500 miles to get to the plate. All this shipping uses large amounts of natural resources (especially fossil fuels), contributes greatly to pollution, and creates excess trash with extra packaging. Conventional agriculture also uses many more resources than sustainable agriculture and pollutes water, land, and air with toxic agricultural byproducts.

Besides reducing greenhouse gas emissions, buying from local growers helps support sustainable farming practices that replenish the land, and it can prevent foods that contain pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics from reaching consumers’ plates.

Bon Appétit has 400 cafés in corporations, specialty venues, and colleges and universities—including at Goucher—and serves 80 million meals per year. The company is a driving force behind the college’s sustainable dining policies. Bon Appétit is committed to sourcing sustainable, local foods and has developed programs addressing local purchasing, the overuse of antibiotics, sustainable seafood, cage-free eggs, and most recently, the connection between food and climate change.