Fresh Produce Brought to USF by Food Activists Revolutionizing Meals

by Jessica Watzman

A banner marks the entrance of the Farmers Market on Sessums Mall. Photo by Jessica Watzman.

Every other Tuesday from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m., Food Activists Revolutionizing Meals
(FARM) at University of South Florida (USF) holds a farmers market at Sessums Mall where
local vendors can sell their products.
FARM members actively reach out to community members who they feel would enjoy
the university environment and who offer products that USF students would enjoy.
Our mission is to promote local markets and organic markets said Lyle Garong, student
and member of FARM.

One of the local vendors that attends the market is Lutz Nutz. This company is owned by
Debra Chatfield. All of their nuts are locally grown tree nuts. Nuts are sold in either airtight bags
or boxes shaped like an old Lutz school house. Chatfield mentioned that the company took
creative liberty with the box and it does not look exactly like the old school house.
Nonetheless, it is a creative way to show the companys local ties. Chatfield says her favorite
part of coming to USF to sell her products is the atmosphere. Employees in office buildings

Lutz Nutz sells a variety of tree nuts, all locally grown in the Tampa Bay area. Photo by Jessica Watzman.

where Chatfield sometimes sells her products are usually impatient and in a rush. When students
stop by on their way home from class, they have time to chat with her and ask questions, unlike
the environment she experiences when she visits offices.

Willow Herbal Delight Gardens is another vendor that attends the farmers market and
sells organic herbs and seeds and also offers garden tours and workshops. Willow Herbal
Delight Gardens is owned by Willow LaMonte, a folk herbalist and organic grower. LaMonte
specializes in teaching and growing edible and medicinal tropical plants and teaches how to
identify and use wild plants that are native to Florida, which is called wild crafting. She started
her nursery eight years ago on an acre of land in Valrico after growing organic plants at home for
36 years. The amount of care she puts into caring for her crops is extraordinary and obvious.
Electronics are not allowed in her tent because the radiation is harmful to the plants and humans,
according to LaMonte. She also displays a sign describing how to pet the plants so potential
buyers can smell them. LaMonte says she first heard about the farmers market from a former
USF student named Marisol. Marisol called LaMonte trying to find vendors, and when LaMonte
heard the mission statement of FARM, she was very impressed.
FARM meets weekly on Wednesday at 7 pm in Marshall Student Center room 3704.