Thursdays at the University of Rhode Island are filled with excited faces and the smells of local food and produce.
At the URI Free Farmers Market, students get their hands on free, fresh and farm-grown vegetables while learning about healthy eating habits and ways to combat food insecurity.
The complimentary produce is available weekly from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the Quad, and from 2:30 p.m to 4 p.m outside the Mackal Field House and Tootell Aquatic Center.
Every week, the three URI farms – Agronomy Farm, East Farm and Peckham Farm – gather fresh produce to distribute to the student body by URI staff and students, including Rebecca Brown of the plant sciences and entomology department.
“We have students who work here over the summer, growing [produce]…We have students who work for credit, helping to harvest for the market,” Brown said.
By giving all URI students, regardless of income, access to free food, the URI farms aim to combat food insecurity within the URI and Rhode Island community, according to Kelli Kidd, a nutrition specialist.
In addition to the Free Farmers Market, the farms also send food to Rhody Outpost, URI’s principal food pantry for students, according to Brown.
“We have gotten to the point where we can supply Rhody Outpost with fresh produce pretty much for eight months out of the year,” Brown said.
Making the Free Farmers Market available to all can help make students dealing with food insecurity feel more comfortable when grabbing their produce, according to Kidd.
“I aim to reduce stigma in everything that I work with,” said Kidd. “The fact that this is open to all students, everybody’s in line, and nobody has any idea what [their] motivation is.”
Since the food is free for students, the market aids students with the rising costs of fruits and vegetables at the supermarkets, according to Brown. Produce is increasingly more expensive, and it can be a struggle to afford fresh vegetables.
“It’s easy to add vegetables to your ramen or mac and cheese, but they’re going to cost a lot more than that packet of ramen or that box of mac and cheese,” Brown said.
The Free Farmers Market started in 2021 after Kidd questioned how to connect local produce with the students and athletes at URI. Kidd spoke with Brown and Amanda Missimer of the nutrition department, and the early stages of the farmers market began.
“We first started with two folded tables in my Kia minivan,” Kidd said. “We just harvested what we could and put it out, and then it grew each year to now, where there’s paid positions and credits.”
Since starting in 2021, the URI farmer’s market has expanded with the addition of its second location outside Mackal Field House and Tootell Aquatic Center.
“We’ve been able to dramatically increase the amount of produce,” Brown said. “In the early years of Free Farmers Market, we would run out of food before everybody got through the line and have to cut the markets short.”
In addition to free vegetables, students enjoy an array of other services at the market, including live cooking demonstrations, SNAP outreach and health services tables and nutrition sheets informing students of what they can do with their vegetables in a dorm room.
“A lot of times we’re encouraging students that have never been exposed to the different produce to just try it,” Kidd said.
URI’s farms also use sustainable agriculture methods to help make the campus as environmentally friendly as possible, according to Brown. The farms use environmentally friendly pest management, irrigation methods that conserve water, and minimize their use of harmful soil preparation methods.
This year’s Free Farmers Market began during the first week of classes on Sept. 4. The second market of the semester, on Sept. 11, had basil, broccoli, celery, corn, cucumbers, green beans, peppers, potatoes and cherry tomatoes.
Students wishing to get involved in the Free Farmers Market can visit its webpage on the URI website, or follow their Instagram @urifreefarmersmarket.
