By Charlotte Ormond
As fall approaches at the University of Maryland, many students often spend their Wednesday afternoons browsing for fresh fruits and vegetables, sampling homemade pumpkin bread or enjoying freshly brewed coffee. The return of UMD’s farmer’s market last Wednesday offered students the chance to do all of this and more.
This year, the market has introduced a new addition: The Garden International. This brand-new booth is run by local mushroom growers and promotes the health benefits of various fungi.
Founded in 2018 by Cory Moore and Elizabeth Robinson, the organization now distributes its products worldwide and sells locally at farmer’s markets, including the one at UMD.
The booth offered a variety of products, including mushroom extracts and “grow-your-own” mushroom kits.
Although Garden International is new to campus, Robinson said she has already enjoyed interacting with students at the market.
“We love working with the students and hearing about their experiences with mushrooms. A lot of them are in environmental or agriculture classes, so it was a nice fit for us,” Robinson said.
Robinson also said she appreciated the opportunity to educate students about the health benefits of mushrooms. The booth provides brochures that detail the advantages of using different types of mushrooms, including turkey tail, reishi and lion’s mane.
According to Robinson, these fungi help to boost the immune system, calm the central nervous system, enhance energy and focus and improve brain health. She said researchers all over the world have even studied turkey tail for its anti-cancer benefits.
“[Mushrooms are] basically one of the heroes of our planet,” Robinson said.
Katerina Lithotomos, sophomore environmental science major, stopped by the Garden International booth because she was already a little bit familiar with the health benefits of mushrooms.
“My brother is really into it,” Lithotomos said. “He likes to make mushroom tea, and I know that it helps to calm you.”
In addition to the Garden International booth, several returning vendors were present, including RavenHook Bakehouse and Qualia Coffee.
Jamie Reeder, a sophomore criminology and criminal justice major, and Tara Sirigiri, a sophomore electrical engineering major, returned to the farmer’s market this semester and said their love for the market comes from its positive environment.
Sirigiri said she appreciates the fresh coffee, as her Wednesday classes start early and end late, making the market her “mid-day pickup.”
For other students looking for locally sourced fruits and vegetables, Reeder recommended the farmer’s market because the produce is “so fresh in the season.”
The Garden International booth, along with all the returning vendors, will be open to students every Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Tawes Plaza throughout the rest of the fall season.
“The energy at every farmer’s market is a little bit different, and I love the fact that there is such a wide variety of products and we get to shop and support our local community,” Robinson said.
Featured Image: UMD welcomes the Garden International this semester, one of the newest additions to their weekly farmer’s market. Photo by Charlotte Ormond.