First Trojan Farmer’s Market of the 2025-2026 School Year
"Fresh produce and local goods welcome students back to campus. The Trojan Farmer’s Market kicks off the fall semester with community, connection, and healthy food.”
The students are back, and the fall semester is in full swing at Virginia State University. On Thursday, August 21, the College of Agriculture hosted its first Trojan Farmer’s Market of the new school year in the Douglas Wilder Building’s parking lot. Professor and Extension specialist Dr. Theresa Nartea directs the Trojan’s Farmers Market, where students, VSU employees, vendors and the community come together over fresh produce, health products, fun and a shared enjoyment of local foods. The campus’s home city of Petersburg, VA, is considered a food desert, where residents and sometimes college students can experience food insecurity. Now in its third year, the Trojan Farmer’s Market provides opportunities for students and the wider community to access healthy, locally-produced fresh foods.
The students are back, and the fall semester is in full swing at Virginia State University. On Thursday, August 21, the College of Agriculture hosted its first Trojan Farmer’s Market of the new school year in the Douglas Wilder Building’s parking lot. Professor and Extension specialist Dr. Theresa Nartea directs the Trojan’s Farmers Market, where students, VSU employees, vendors and the community come together over fresh produce, health products, fun and a shared enjoyment of local foods. The campus’s home city of Petersburg, VA, is considered a food desert, where residents and sometimes college students can experience food insecurity. Now in its third year, the Trojan Farmer’s Market provides opportunities for students and the wider community to access healthy, locally-produced fresh foods.
Local producers find new opportunities at the Trojan Farmer’s Market, too. For some vendors, the on-campus market served as their first opportunity to bring farm products to sale. With hundreds of visitors to each market, vendors find ample support for their businesses. Between just two markets from March and April of 2025, vendors sold over $18,500 in farm products. Interactions are not strictly financial, either. Many vendors enjoy opportunities to connect with new and returning customers, and take a moment to help visitors deepen their connection to the earth and its bounty, and educate them about the nutritional benefits of different crops or new ways to use herbs.
“Vendors share more than their harvests at the Trojan Farmer’s Market. Each booth offers a chance to learn, connect, and support small businesses.”
At Thursday’s market, vendors from as close as Colonial Heights and as far as Fredericksburg came to set up engaging displays of their products. Farmers brought the best produce of summer, featuring heirloom tomatoes, watermelons and fresh basil. Customers could shop for farm products like jams, spices and honey, or pick up freeze-dried ginger and turmeric, both well known for their health benefits. Browntown Farms of Warfield was already taking holiday pre-orders for collard greens and jams, which will be delivered right to VSU. Some vendors, like Mimi’s Kitchen & Gardens of Waverly, brought not just produce, but baked goods and potted plants. Dr. Nartea specializes in integrated marketing and works with farmers and vendors to find ways to create value-added products or diversify their offerings to increase revenue and provide more options for customers.
Not only could attendees find fresh seasonal produce and artisanal products, but customers also enjoyed live DJ music, free popcorn, games of cornhole, and giveaways. The first 100 customers received a free, limited edition VSU Trojan Farmer’s Market cooler bag, perfect for preserving produce freshness. The market hosted four free raffle drawings of $25 Visa gift cards throughout the morning and afternoon, so shoppers could have opportunities to win throughout the market’s open hours. In between market stalls, customers could learn from VSU’s experts at different stations, too. Dr. Nartea set up a colorful display of cut flower bouquets and educated visitors about how home growers can cultivate herbs and flowers for aromatherapy and herbal teas. Dr. Shuxin Ren displayed “cucamelons,” a new crop that combines the crispness of a cucumber with the sweetness of cantaloupes. For new snacking ideas, Ms. Addison Caldwell, a program assistant with the Expanded Food, Nutrition and Education program, offered healthy trail mix and fruit salad tastings.
With (# OF ATTENDEES), the first Trojan Farmer’s Market of the new school year was a great success. New and returning faces enjoyed food, fun and opportunities to connect with each other and the roots of local food systems. The Trojan Farmer’s Market will return on September 16 and again on October 30.