The apple juice, wildflower honey and freshly cut flowers were a hit. The buzz around the east side of the UC Davis quad on Oct. 18 was universally positive.

The new Local Farmers Market on the Quad is being held five successive Wednesdays this fall and again next spring from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to give campus students, staff and faculty a convenient opportunity to shop for fresh, locally grown fruits, vegetables, nuts, flowers, live plants, and other items. It is also an opportunity for the campus community to talk with local growers and learn about how and where their food is grown.

"We thought it would be great if we could get the farmers market on campus," said Davis Farmers Market manager Randii MacNear. "This new market will help farmer sales and provide an opportunity to educate people about the importance of supporting local agriculture through our food choices."

The UC Davis farmers market is the first ever on a college campus in California, according to MacNear. It is being made possible by support from the campus food service, Student Health Center, and the Campus Community Relations office.

The new market is also being scrutinized by campus researchers as part of a farmers market promotion project funded by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service. Gail Feenstra, a food systems analyst with the UC Davis-based Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, will be evaluating the success of the new market.

The new farmers market also coincides with Local Food Week and is one of many events tied to the campus book project, which focuses on author Michael Pollan's book, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals.

On the first day of the market Dori Stone, a UC Davis senior international agricultural development major, was busy answering questions about the eggplants, pomegranates, tomatoes and the dozens of other produce items grown at the student farm. "People are always surprised we grow this right on campus," she said.

Guy Cameron, a Dixon area farmer new to the Davis Farmers Market, commented on the beautiful weather and the delightful flavor in his heirloom broccoli. "The first frost will make it sweeter," he said.

John Stumbos is a senior writer in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.