Tired of satisfying hunger with the same old midnight trip to Wow Wingery, Flambeauxs, or the C-Store?

College cuisine no longer has to be limited to these options now that fresh produce has made its way to campus.

A Hollygrove Market and Farm stand is located in the Peace Quad from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Friday. Students can purchase locally grown fruits and vegetables (and sometimes rice, dried fruits or homemade marmalades) without having to drive to the closest grocery store — none of which are within walking distance.

Established in 2008, the market is a community-owned organization that offers approximately eight plots of land for local farming and distributes fresh produce from other small farms located in Mississippi and southeastern Louisiana to the public. Although not all of its products are grown organically, the market aims to provide the community with nutritious foods that not only support the local agricultural economy, but are also grown in unison with the seasons.

As of now, there are four locations around town where produce is sold: Loyola and Tulane’s campuses, St. Anna’s Church on Esplanade, and the French Market. As Blake Hansen, University market manager, points out, the aim of the Hollygrove Market and Farm is to build a stronger relationship between the local community and local farmers, decrease waste, in terms of the cost of transportation, not to mention, pollution, and most importantly, raise awareness of seasonal produce.

“It is essential to make meals based on what’s growing rather than on what we want,” said Evan Parks, a Hollygrove Market and Farm volunteer. Many of us take for granted the variety of produce that is sold at grocery stores, without realizing that it has traveled for miles, crossing states, and sometimes oceans, simply to keep us content and make our lives a little easier.”

“It’s important to know that our produce doesn’t come from just Chile or Guatemala,” said Helen Sandy, English writing senior and Hollygrove Market intern. “On the contrary, all suppliers are within a one and a half hour radius of the main location. It’s almost as if you picked it yourself.”

When asked about her experience with the Hollygrove stand, music therapy sophomore Rebecca Hames said, “I wake up early on the weekends, and since the O.R. and C-Store are closed, it helps a lot to have some fresh fruit in my dorm.” However, Hames said she never buys vegetables because she has no way of cooking them.

Hollygrove has recently taken into account the little access most students have to kitchens and for this reason is planning to sell fresh fruit bags within the next two weeks.

Citrus fruits will soon be in season this winter and available for purchase.

For those interested in cooking, the market also offers a Buyer’s Club, a service that sells an assortment of fruits, vegetables, herbs, dairy products, eggs and preserves for $25 a box.

Students must order a box online before picking it up Friday in front of Tulane’s, Le Gourmet.

Natalia Verdina can be reached at [email protected]