Barry Hsüeh
On
one recent Wednesday, I saw that there is now a traditional market in Feng Chia
University (FCU) campus. To know more about the market, I went to ask the staff
of the General Affairs Office. After a short interview, I totally understood
why FCU allows these vendors to sell their products on campus.
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All photos by the author |
So, who are these farmers and merchants
and where do they come from? Most of them are local people. They have come to
Feng Chia to share their farm produce with the FCU community. Teachers, staff
members, students, and people living nearby all come to have a visit and buy
some fruits and vegetables. When I visited with the vendors, I found that they
are a little different from the vendors at the traditional market outside
campus; their fruits and vegetables are mostly organic produce that they grow
themselves.
The Taiwan Council of Agriculture (COA) has
recently been encouraging universities and hospitals to establish small markets
so that people can buy agricultural products conveniently and farmers can earn some
extra money. The vendors at FCU come to campus with their products every Wednesday.
They arrive at 8:00 and they leave at 17:00. They are located between the Sciences
building and the Civil Engineering building. All venders are situated on the
boulevard between the two buildings. (Here’s a tip for people who are
interested in buying some of these products – when it is almost time for the
vendors to go home, their prices go down.)
Inviting local farms to sell their
produce on campus benefits many people in many ways. Everyone at FCU benefits
because shopping “at home” is more convenient than going to the supermarket.
Feng Chia University teachers and staff members are also happier because they
can go shopping together in their free time. This is a good chance for
co-workers to shop and socialize at the same time.
Perhaps this new produce market inside
the FCU campus will become larger in the future, and more and more people will
benefit from the convenience and low prices and the farmers will benefit from
having these extra customers. Next Wednesday, when you are taking your
afternoon break, why not take a walk through FCU’s new produce market?
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