Appalachian State University students, along with students
from UNC Wilmington, UNC Chapel Hill, UNC Asheville and North
Carolina State University, are working to promote local foods
on campus.
This month, many of the universities will bring local foods to
their campuses by hosting farmers’ markets with farmers invited
to set up tables and sell their local produce.
Locally, the Appalachian State University Sustainable Energy Society
will host a myriad of events around sustainability, including
a sustainable farm workshop, Earth Day Festival on the Sanford
Mall and Sustainable Development. For more information on ASU
events visit http://asuses.appstate.edu.
The events give students an opportunity to meet people growing
their food and to learn about the importance and benefits of supporting
local producers, said a spokesperson for the ASU student support
group.
Students participating in organizations to support local foods
at the universities first met at the Southeast Youth Food Activist
Summit in February as part of the Real Food Challenge. The Real
Food Challenge seeks to organize students around eating local,
sustainable and fair trade products.
Food that is grown locally and sustainability is better for the
environment, contains more nutrients, has greater flavor and contributes
to the local economy, the spokesperson said. Universities are
engines of change with enormous buying power.
“If our public universities in the UNC system all bought
just a portion of their food locally, imagine the benefits to
our local economies and natural environments,” the spokesperson
said.
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