First university farmers' market to be launched this Wednesday
Starting on 18 February, the Plaça Cívica will host a farmers' market with organic and local products that will be set up every Wednesday, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Awareness-raising activities will also be organised on topics such as fair trade and responsible consumption. This initiative is the result of a collaboration between the UAB, the Institut Metròpoli and the Xarxa de Consum Solidari.
The goal is to provide organic, local and seasonal products to the university community and foster direct sales channels for local agricultural and livestock farmers.
The farmers' markets of the Xarxa de Consum Solidari are already offered in different parts of Barcelona and other municipalities, and now the UAB will be the first university to welcome this initiative and make it available to students, researchers, lecturers and adminstrative and services staff.
The UAB Farmers' Market will include a dozen stalls offering fruits and vegetables, deli, cheese, bread, olives and honey. All products will be offered by local vendors who will be able to sell directly to consumers.
This Wednesday there will also be a talk at 1:15 p.m. with market producers on the impacts that the free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur may have on small farmers in the region. David Álvarez, beekeeper of the company Mel dels Erms; Xavier Montagut, economist and president of the Xarxa de Consum Solidari and coordinator of Farmers' Markets and Sete Rivera, agricultural producer of Brot Agrològic will participate.
Immediately afterwards, at 2:00 p.m., the inauguration ceremony of the UAB Farmers' Market will take place, led by Vice-Rector for Campus and Sustainability Xavier Gabarrell, accompanied by Xavier Montagut and Laura Calvet, researcher at the Metròpoli Institute.
A traditional Catalan calçots tasting event will be offered by the farmers participating in the market, open to the entire university community visiting the market.
The aim is to bring organic, local and seasonal products to the university community as a whole and foster direct sales channels for local agricultural and livestock farmers, as well as contribute to raising awareness about sustainable models of production, distribution and consumption.
The UAB creates the Food Board
The UAB recently founded the UAB Food Board. This consultative and participatory body aims to guide the UAB's policy on healthy and sustainable eating habits, as well as facilitate communication between different groups in the university community and the food environment at the UAB.
The UAB thus reaffirms its commitment to the health and well-being of the university community and society as a whole, an objective developed in the Healthy and Sustainable Campus Plan for the 2023-2027 period (Campus SiS).
INAUGURATION OF THE UAB FARMERS' MARKET:
11:00 a.m.: Opening of the UAB Farmers' Market
1:15 p.m.: Talk on the EU-Mercosur agreement and current situation of farmers
2:00 p.m.: Inaugural speeches. Traditional Catalan calçot tasting event
4:00 p.m.: Closing time
The UAB, with Sustainable Development Goals
Good health and well-being
Responsible consumption and production