Every Thursday during the spring and fall local farmers, artists and bakers have set up shop on the lawn outside the Elon Community Church on North Williamson Avenue. For the past five years, the church-sponsored farmers market attracts students, faculty and townspeople alike – all united in the pursuit of fresh, locally grown food.
But not everyone is aware of the market and its vendors. When asked about the market, many Elon University students said they had never heard of it.
“If I didn’t walk right by, I wouldn’t know it was there,” said freshman Fielder Thomas.
Others, though, visit the market regularly, mirroring a recent national trend toward purchasing local produce. In the past several years, famers markets across the country have experienced a resurgence in popularity. Research has proven commercially produced foods to be high in pesticides and artificial preservatives, but according to Resa Walch, senior lecturer of health and human performance, locally grown food seldom has either.
For some, it’s as much about the people as it is the food. Walch, who said she frequents the market, emphasized the value of meeting the faces behind the products.
“You can talk to them about how the food was grown, where it came from,” she said. “That’s something you can’t do at the grocery store.”
Sophomore Sarah Gordon agrees.
“It’s really more of a personal interaction, because the food here tends to be grown by smaller farmers,” she said. “And it tastes better.”
Randy Thompson, a farmer in southern Alamance County, said he believes that taste, while important, is only one reason to support locally grown food. Most grocery store produce comes from several states away, he said, if not from all the way across the country.
Thompson said he is a firm believer in the health benefits of local food.
“We use absolutely no synthetic pesticides or preservatives,” he said.
Food from Thompson’s farm goes to market in less than a week, which he said guarantees freshness.
Jill Nowack, who sells homemade jam at the market, said she thinks local food is also healthier because it is less likely to harbor food-borne diseases, such as E. coli.
“Almost everything here is locally sourced,” she said. “When you know where it comes from, you don’t have to worry as much about E. coli and all the others.”
Freshness, taste and health aside, the market receives support simply because it is a local entity, said Lewis Jones, who sells crafts at the market.
“You are, in fact, supporting the local people and their livelihoods,” he said. “I think there’s value in that.”
Jones said he believes the farmers market supports the local people in a way that larger companies do not.
“It’s fine if people work and shop at Target, but then Target gets all the profits,” Jones said. “Mom and pop stores support the local people, right here.”
And some local vendors want more than money for their wares. For Nowack, interaction with Elon students is a highlight of the Elon Community Church market.
“I go to a lot of markets, and this one is the most enjoyable,” she said. “I love the kids.”