For the fifth consecutive year, Wayne State University will kick off and celebrate the summer season with its weekly 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, herbs, flowers, honey, and other farm and food products.

The market opens June 6, and will run every Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., through October 31. It is located at 5201 Cass Ave., in front of Wayne State University's Prentis Hall (WSU Business School), across the street from the Detroit Public Library.

This year's market will feature growers from Detroit and the surrounding metropolitan region, including Brother Nature Produce, Grown in Detroit, D-Town Farm, ACRE Farm, and the honey guy Rich Wieske of Greentoe Gardens. Farmers from outside Detroit include the Vang and Van Houtte Family Farms from Macomb County, and Holtz Family Farm from Monroe County. In June, farmers will offer the season's early gifts, including lettuce, spinach, and other greens, rhubarb, peas, spring flowers, and lots of transplants.

Because of several hard frosts after an early thaw in March and April, Michigan's fruit and berry crops face huge losses. We hope that customers will come out and show their support for our farmers, who turn out despite the risks of unpredictable weather.

Midtown's own Avalon International Breads will also maintain a stall through the entire market season. Russell Street Deli will offer sandwiches and soups, and Good Girls Go to Paris will make their delicious crepes as customers wait, enabling them to grab lunch even as they shop for dinner.

The Wayne State University Farmers Market accepts the Michigan Bridge Card, and Project Fresh and Senior Project Fresh coupons. The Bridge Card is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which helps impoverished households buy food. 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. By participating in these nutrition programs, the Wayne State University Farmers Market supports Michigan producers while also increasing access to healthy food in Detroit.

To provide additional benefits to low-income households, the market will match Bridge Card spending dollar for dollar up to $20 per card per day with Double Up Food Bucks. Double Up Food Bucks are made possible at the WSU Farmers Market through a partnership with the Fair Food Network. For more information, browse: www.fairfoodnetwork.org.

The Wayne State University Farmers Market is a project of SEED Wayne. As with all SEED Wayne activities, the farmers market is made possible with the help of several campus partners, with special thanks to the School of Business Administration, Office of Campus Sustainability, the Dean of Libraries, the Vice President for Economic Development, and the Department of Public Safety.

About SEED Wayne: SEED Wayne's mission is to collaboratively build sustainable food systems on the campus of Wayne State University and in Detroit neighborhoods through activities in research, teaching, campus operations, and community engagement.

SEED Wayne projects include the Warrior Demonstration Garden, the St. Andrew's Allotment Garden and the Parking Structure 5 rooftop garden on campus, in which students and staff grow herbs and vegetables; the Wayne State University Farmers Markets in which area market gardeners and farmers sell fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and prepared foods; Cafeteria Composting, in which kitchen wastes at 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 Detroit FRESH, the Healthy Corner Store Project, in which neighborhood corner stores in the city are assisted to carry and sell fresh fruits and vegetables.

SEED Wayne activities are made possible by the Ford Motor Company Fund, the Erb Family Foundation, and Wayne State University.

For more information on the program, please visit: www.clas.wayne.edu/seedwayne.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution of higher education offering more than 400 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to more nearly 32,000 students.