While grocery stores may have every vegetable imaginable year-round, the Green Bear Coalition encouraged buying local, seasonal vegetables at their Fall Feast Nov. 1.
The Fall Feast was held in the Lewis Science Center Atrium garden and the Green Bears were joined by students from the dietetics program, who prepared the meal. The vegetables were provided by Bell Urban Farm and the Honors College garden.
About buying in-season produce, Grant Williams said, “You end up with more sustainably sourced and even more nutrient-dense food.” Williams is the graduate research assistant and organizer for the Green Bear Coalition.
“The hurdles are ‘How do I prepare the vegetables?’ or ‘What is in season?’” Williams said. “Shopping at places like Bell Urban, where you’re only buying local produce, you’re probably avoiding hot houses and other far-away places.”
Williams said part of the environmental aspect of shopping local and in-season is avoiding all the produce that has to be brought to grocery stores in trucks.
Biology lecturer Candice Thomas said, “One of the most common questions that I get from students is ‘This is all wonderful, this is great. But how do I prepare this for a meal?’” That’s where the dietetics students came in.
The dietetics students prepared a soup using carrots, celery, onions, sweet potatoes and other vegetables.
Graduate student Anna Marroquin is in the dietetics and nutrition therapy program and led the cooking demonstration. Marroquin said it’s important to introduce college students to local produce and basic cooking skills that many lack. She said she was excited to show people that cooking can be surprisingly easy.
Marroquin said that buying locally grown produce means higher quality food. “Getting into local food kind of helps you get more in touch with your community and supporting those small businesses and local farmers,” Marroquin said.
“[The dietetics students] were super excited and they came up with a couple of simple recipes and ideas to share with the students,” Thomas said. Thomas may teach anatomy and physiology, but her passion is gardening. She has kept a garden for over 10 years.
Thomas said the Lewis Science Center atrium was largely empty for the eight years she has worked at UCA — until Williams approached her about setting up a seed-saving library. Since that idea, the use of the atrium has taken off.
“The Green Bear Coalition has really been able to utilize this space,” Thomas said. “They’re really trying to learn about sustainable agriculture. It’s not really a huge space but it’s representative and it’s a space for learning.”
When students have garden-based ideas that they want to pursue, like the seed-saving library, they are able to take root in the atrium.
The Green Bear Coalition can be found on CubConnect or on Instagram @greenbearcoalition, where information about upcoming meetings and events is posted.
