University of Kentucky “Wildcat Market” brings accessible, free produce to students

Free and accessible produce for University of Kentucky students was handed out Wednesday as part of the third annual on-campus Wildcat Market.

The student farmers’ market was set up Wednesday afternoon by the school’s Student Activities Board and Horticulture Research Farm.

Students picked out a bag’s worth of sustainable produce, harvested by their classmates involved with the farm’s Community Supported Agriculture program.

The program focuses on growing and harvesting sustainable produce.

Caity Weaver is the UK Student Government Association’s Director of Sustainability, and helped organize the event. She says the event is in line with that practice.

“Produce is getting increasingly more expensive around here and it's also getting more and more difficult due to climate change, and changing temperatures and weather patterns to create more produce,” Weaver said.

For UK students like junior Charlotte Lawson, it’s a way for her and her roommates to save money and not worry about getting to the grocery store from campus.

“I have the money for food, but it's so hard to go to the grocery store,” Lawson said. “A single red bell pepper is like, $1.30 now. It's just nice because I can get this and I get it for free with my tuition.”

Organizers say turnout this year was the largest it's ever been. They plan on continuing the yearly farmers’ market for the foreseeable future.

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