WSU’s Southside Cafe and Market held its first farmers market Friday where students could choose from various fruits and vegetables.

WSU Dining Services ran the event and staff offered to peel, cut and package customer’s produce free of charge. Free bottles of Tajín were available too.

Produce ranged from $1–4 per item, apart from grapes and potatoes, which were priced by pint. Students were able to use their Residential Dining Account to pay for their items.

Martha Flores, registered dietitian and Dining Services health and wellness coordinator, came up with the idea and spearheaded the event.

“It’s our last day of nutrition month so this was kind of part of that. I thought that Global has a lot more fresh food than over here,” Flores said. “We thought that bringing that here would be a good opportunity.”

The Market on Cougar Way has been open since 2015. Flores said she wanted to bring more fresh produce to the south side of campus while keeping prices affordable for students. She also wanted to bring fruits and vegetables people had not tried by giving them a chance to buy them at a cheaper price.

“This is our first one, so if it’s popular, then we will probably continue,” she said.

Cheuk Yan Lam, an exchange student at WSU, said she was grateful for the vast selection of items on sale.

“I think that the cafeteria should organize activities like this more,” she said. “I think that the farmers market had good deals because the fruit is cheaper than the ones in Walmart. They have a big variety of fruits and vegetables and it’s so convenient.”

Lam said she found being able to use RDA to pay for her items useful.

“I can use the RDA in a more practical way. I can buy fruit, which is healthy and better, instead of buying snacks and other things,” Lam said. “I really liked the service [where they had] someone to cut the fruit for us, because for me, I don’t have a big knife for cutting my melon.”

Empty cardboard fruit cases were available for students to use to carry their products. Bags were also provided for free for those that got their produced prepared.