City Market bringing wares to UVa Grounds

By Aaron Lee

Published: August 30, 2008

Buying and eating local doesn’t get much easier for University of Virginia students than when a farmers’ market sets up on Grounds.

And one will be up Monday at Newcomb Plaza from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The event is aimed at bringing a handful of area producers to UVa in hopes of interesting students in shopping at the City Market.

Connie Migliazzo is a member of the UVa Student Council’s environmental sustainability committee and she spent time this summer talking with City Market organizers and vendors about bringing the mini-market to campus.

“I get really depressed going into some of the grocery stores around here and seeing mediocre produce,” Migliazzo said.

Vendors at Newcomb Plaza will be selling local produce, homemade cheeses and organic baked goods, among other items, from sellers normally found at the market in downtown Charlottesville, she said.

Ben Chrisinger co-chairs the sustainability committee and said the group hopes to reach students who may not have been to a farmers’ market before.

“Even if they don’t buy anything, at least they’ll get a taste of what’s going on downtown on Saturday morning,” Chrisinger said.

The Charlottesville City Market is held each Saturday — April through the end of October — from 7 a.m. to noon. It’s located in the parking lot between Water and South streets.