Promoting sustainability around campus

On Feb. 24, the Festival of International Books and Arts celebrated Sustainable Food Day with the Farmer’s Market hosted by the
UTRGV Environmental Awareness Club.

The market took place on the east side lawn of the Student Union on the UTRGV Edinburg campus from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It was the best location, as throughout the day, the line to the espiropapas booth never seemed to end. 

Besides espiropapas, the club also sold vegan brownies and traditional Argentinian alfajores, sandwich cookies rolled in shredded coconut filled with dulce de leche and quince jam. The drinks were coffee, sparkling lemonade and Hibiscus tea.

Suzanne El-Haj, a sustainable agricultural and food systems senior, is the Farmer’s Market coordinator and a member of the Environmental Awareness Club. She said the event has been hosted since 2014.

“Our goal is to promote, like, local farmers and make sustainability,” El-Haj said. “To promote eating locally and just, like, eating our vegetables, and like, just being aware of the local food system in the [Rio Grande] Valley.”

She brought organic oranges from her own house’s backyard for the market. The selection of fresh vegetables was donated by Edinburg’s J&D Produce Inc. The business provided the club with cabbage, kale, beets and Swiss chard.

“I liked the health section where it’s, like, the vegetables and plants … because you normally don’t see that … in the education environment,” said Zalen Garcia, an English junior and theatre minor. “I think that’s [the education side’s] way of showing, like … being healthy and … helping the environment.”

To encourage eco-friendly and healthy habits in the community, the club sold bamboo toothbrushes, bath sponges, tote bags, homemade candles and handmade soaps. Some members also donated clothes from their closet to stop fast fashion.

The UTRGV Human Environmental Animal League (HEAL) club was invited to participate in the Farmer’s Market. At its booth, they were raising awareness of the meat production impact to the environment. Members asked visitors how much water they thought it took to produce one beef patty.

Michelle Rodriguez Dike, a local freelance artist and florist, was also invited to the market to display and sell her artwork. She displayed digital and sticker paintings. Other paintings were created by pen, markers and colored pencils.

“It’s just kind of a collection of things that I’ve done over the years, from showing cultural significance to, you know, going into things that are a little bit more spiritual in nature,” Rodriguez Dike said.

Asked about the market’s outcome, Marisol Cervantes, the Environmental Awareness Club president, replied, “It was a proud moment for us because all of our officers were there and giving it our best, and all of us were working really hard to make it successful.” 

The Environmental Awareness Club plans to host another Farmer’s Market on March 26.