Spring is in the air and Wayne State University is gearing up for its Wednesday Farmers Market. Members of the university, Midtown, and broader Detroit community are invited to visit the Wayne State market and shop for fresh, locally grown vegetables, fruits, flowers, transplants, and other farm and food products.

The market opens June 3, and will run every Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., through October 28. It is located on Cass Avenue, in front of Prentis Hall (WSU Business School), just north of Warren Ave, and across the street from the Detroit Public Library.

Wayne State's Wednesday Farmers Market will feature farmers from Detroit and the surrounding metropolitan region, including one farmer from Ontario, Canada. In June, farmers will offer the season's early gifts, including lettuce, spinach, collard and other greens, peas, potatoes, strawberries, apples, spring flowers, and lots of transplants. Some farmers will have hothouse tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and herbs. One of Detroit's favorite bakeries, Avalon International Breads, will also maintain a stall through the entire market season.

The market's organizers are especially proud of Detroit growers who will sell at the market; they include the Grown in Detroit Cooperative coordinated by the Garden Resource Program Collaborative, Vandalia Gardens, Earthworks Urban Farm, and the D-Town Farm run by the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network.
.
The Wayne State Wednesday Farmers Market is authorized to accept the Michigan Bridge Card. The Bridge Card is a debit card, in which federal food stamp dollars are deposited so that participating low-income households can purchase food. The food stamp program-now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP-is offered at the market in partnership with Detroit's Eastern Market Corporation.

SEED Wayne is also gearing up to be authorized to accept the state's Project Fresh and Senior Project Fresh coupons this season. Project Fresh and Senior Project Fresh are state government programs that help pregnant women and children, and senior citizens, respectively, have access to Michigan-produced fruits and vegetables sold at farmers markets. This program therefore also supports Michigan farmers.

Additionally the market will accept the Wayne State One Card, for the convenience of students and staff who do business on campus through their One Card.

As with all SEED Wayne activities, the farmers market is made possible with the help of several campus partners, with special thanks to the Division of Business Operations led by Nabelah Ghareeb and the Department of Public Safety led by Chief Tony Holt, and Dean David L. Williams of the School of Business Administration.
The Wayne State Wednesday Farmers Market is a project of SEED Wayne

For questions regarding the Wayne State Wednesday Farmers Market or SEED Wayne, please contact Kami Pothukuchi at k.pothukuchi@wayne.edu.

About SEED Wayne:
SEED Wayne's mission is to collaboratively build sustainable food systems on the campus of Wayne State University and in Detroit area neighborhoods.
SEED Wayne projects include the Warrior Demonstration Garden and the St. Andrew's Allotment Garden on campus, in which students and staff grow herbs and vegetables; the Wayne State Wednesday Farmers Market in which area market gardeners and farmers sell fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and prepared foods; Cafeteria Composting, in which kitchen wastes at the McGregor Memorial Conference Center and campus
cafeterias are composted; a 4,000 sq. ft. passive solar greenhouse at the Capuchin

Soup Kitchen for year-round production of vegetables for the soup kitchen; and Healthy Corner Stores, in which corner stores in the near-Eastside neighborhood around Capuchin Soup Kitchen are being assessed to increase access to healthy foods in the community.

SEED Wayne is made possible by the Ford Motor Company Fund.

For more information on SEED Wayne, please browse: www.clas.wayne.edu/seedwayne

 

# # #

Wayne State University is a premier urban research university offering more than 350 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to more than 31,000 students.