For all of y'all who think vegans don't eat and turn into skinny little thangs - I'm here to destroy that urban myth right now, well sorta lol. While I have eaten way more yet, higher quality foods this week than in the past few months, I have lost about 3 pounds. This is just in time for my sister's wedding in Jamaica; thong, string bikini here I come!!!! Just kidding - I don't think that I'll EVER be ready for that.
Anyway, back to food. I was on American University's campus and guess what I saw.... A FARMER'S MARKET!!!! Right smack in the middle of campus. Talk about meeting the needs of the community. They had leeks, oranges, yams, kale, garlic and a variety of other fruits and veggies. I personally purchased the Kale, yams, Brussel sprouts, popcorn, and an orange. All for about 10 bucks.
In addition to the fresh produce, there were employees willing to help out with any questions that the student/shoppers had. For example, I didn't know how to cook brussel sprouts (No, nuking Green Giant’s Brussel Sprouts in Butter Sauce does not count ascooking), so two of the guys working there gave me a few pointers. I also over heard Rebekah Anderson, an employee of Agora farm and AU student help brainstorm with another student about roof-top farming. In all honesty, I think that every university should have a Farmer' Market. I mean isn’t it their goal to properly educate the future of America?
Now as most of you know, I went to Howard which is according to Google maps, 5.8 miles away from AU and the last time I checked there wasn't one there. When I asked Rebekah, who is studying food security, about this, she said that they approached the folks at HU and after saying that they were comparing farms, no one followed up with them (flashback to the A bldg :-/). Come on man..... Howard get it together!!! We can't continue to get in our own way. I wonder if they realize the link between proper education and food? I digress. In conclusion, I’ve had an awesomely delicious week. I’ve even begun to consider keeping my diet animal free, but that’s to be seen……18 more days left to go ☺
Resources:
Link to AU’s farmer’s market webpage: http://www.american.edu/hr/Farmers-Market.cfm
Farmer’s Markets in DC: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17047-2004May11.html
The Vegan Resource group: http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/vegan.htm
STEPH!!!! I READ YOUR BLOG!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree that farmers markets are the best. There is nothing better than heading over with a basket over your arm and a crisp ten dollar bill and seeing how much fresh food your can squeeze out of it. Another reason I'm super stoked it's SPRINGGG, and not too cold to walk to a farmers market. Yay!