Houston Farmers Market now part of Rice

FROM RICE NEWS STAFF REPORTS

After seven years as an independent, nonprofit organization, Houston Farmers Market Inc. has become an official part of Rice University.

	The newly renamed Rice University Farmers Market will continue as a marketplace for local food and other related agricultural products and services.

The newly renamed Rice University Farmers Market will continue as a marketplace for local food and other related agricultural products and services.

“Having a farmers market on campus enriches the experience of Rice students and community residents who have access to all the cultural resources of the fourth-largest city in the U.S. but may not experience the rural perspective represented by the food producers who come to market every Tuesday,” said
Carol “CJ” Claverie, project manager for Housing and Dining at Rice.

“By buying directly from the farmer, consumers learn firsthand how their food is produced and gain insight into the challenges of small-acre farming and ranching in the Texas Gulf Coast region,” she said. “On a very real level, students and community members are helping to grow the local food shed and increase sustainable food production in the region by purchasing from the family farms that come to market.”

Claverie said the market fits in well with the community-engagement theme of Rice’s Vision for the Second Century.

“Rice hosts the weekly market for the community, and students have the opportunity to engage with local food producers as primary sources of information about health, education and regional economic development.”

To set up their booths, vendors pay a nominal fee to Rice to offset the cost of trash removal, security, parking lot space and a generator for electricity.

The Rice University Farmers Market operates year-round, rain or shine, from 3:30 to 7 p.m. in the South Stadium lot along University Boulevard. For more information, visit http://farmersmarket.rice.edu/.