In this post James Lande, a UC Santa Cruz undergraduate and Produce Pop-up coordinator, gives us the inside scoop on an exciting student-led initiative:

The Food Systems Working Group (FSWG), anchored within the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS) provides a space for the student run Produce Pop-Up project at UCSC. The Produce Pop-Up began as a senior project in the Fall of 2015 and has been sustained through FSWG members ever since. In efforts to improve issues of food access and healthy food purchasing on campus, the Produce Pop-Up provides a space for students to purchase affordable produce sourced from the CASFS Farm and local Santa Cruz farmers' markets. By partnering with the CASFS farm and farmers' markets the Pop-Up is establishing a connection with local farmers and UCSC student organizations.

Once a week the Produce Pop-Up team sells produce in the quarry plaza so that students who do not have the ability or time to purchase their food off-campus can still access healthy and fresh food. The Pop-Up tent is set up in a central location on campus so that it is easily accessible. In this way the Pop-Up serves as an important connector between the CASFS Farm and students by being in a visible, central student space. Students and staff can either stop by and have a snack on their way to class or do their grocery shopping for the week on their way home. One of the main challenges that arises in providing fresh produce is that students are unfamiliar with how to cook some items or do not have access to a kitchen. In effort to make it easier for students to prepare their own meals, we offer tips on how they can cook quick meals or make raw meals that do not require cooking. We also offer ready made nutritious meals from the former UCSC Dining Chef and Santa Cruz City Schools Nutrition Director Jamie Smith, through his business, Food Smith.

If anyone needs a quick lunch and does not have the time to cook. The meals are organic and sourced from local farms featuring a “paleo” style diet approach. In addition to making fresh produce more accessible, we aim to make it more affordable as well. Most of the food purchased from the Farmers' Market is bought in bulk so that it can be sold at a lower price at the Pop-Up. We also accept EBT and provide informational flyers to inform students of the Calfresh program and where they can find more information on campus. The produce that is not sold is transferred to the food pantry in the dean of students office to divert healthy fresh product and prevent any food from being wasted. At present, our model has also inspired UC Berkeley and UC Santa Barbara to reach out to their regional organic growers and make locally produced food more accessible to their campus communities.