Farmer’s Market to encourage buying locally

Indiana is one of the top corn-producing states in the nation, but corn is not the only vegetable on the menu. \nThis Saturday, Bloomington residents will get a chance to see what other foods Southern and Central Indiana have to offer at the Winter Farmers’ Market. The Local Growers Guild will host the first of 10 farmers’ markets at the Harmony School gymnasium from 9 a.m. to noon.\nNot only does the event offer a cheap alternative to dorm food, it also gives students a chance to learn about local growers and the benefits of buying locally-raised crops and meats. By removing the middlemen of food production and distribution, and cutting the distance between farm and fork, the final product not only becomes cheaper but more sustainable. Isabel Estevez, a member of the Indiana Public Interest Research Group, testifies to the food’s quality, especially the meat. She said it’s “the best beef you can get around here.”\nOriginally orchestrated by a club dedicated to what their Web site calls “the opposite of fast food,” Slow Food Bloomington handed the event over to the Local Growers Guild two years ago. Slow Food Bloomington felt the market was a better fit for the Guild’s objectives, and since it is only the Guild’s second year running the event, they’re still trying to spread the word.\n“We don’t get a lot of students,” said Maggie Sullivan, marketing correspondent for the Local Growers Guild.\nAccording to the 2007 Local Growers’ Guide, the Guild consists of 36 independent farmers no farther away than Perry County on the Kentucky-Indiana border. Farmers wishing to sell their products at the market must be within a 100-mile radius of Bloomington. The Guild’s board of directors is in the process of coloring a gray area: an Illinois resident who catches salmon and yellow walleye on the Alaskan coast wishes to sell his fish at the market. His area is included in the region, but more pertinent questions need to be addressed, Sullivan said.\nThe market brings an expansive variety of meats, vegetables, herbs and fruit to the people. Visitors might not find the largest variety this weekend due to the season, but the Guild plans to hold nine more events consecutively each Saturday.\nBrad Vine, who works for the Local Foods Campaign of INPIRG, hopes to educate the student body about healthy alternatives to dorm food and at the same time bring consumers’ attention to the source of their food. \nThe market gives farmers a chance to take back what they earned, Sullivan said.\n“We’re hoping to get the word out about healthier, cheaper, economically stable alternatives,” Vine said. \nVine holds weekly meetings at 7:30 p.m. every Wednesday in the Indiana Memorial Union, room 470A. He has also made a Facebook event for the Winter Farmer’s Market for those interested. Anyone wishing to attend the market that doesn’t have transportation to the Second Street and Woodlawn Avenue location can e-mail him at bvine@indiana.edu for carpool information.