North Quad will look like a farmer's market Friday afternoon as part of a new student government initiative, Quad Markets, which brings locally grown produce, fresh pastries, handcrafted accessories and more to campus.
“This is a great opportunity for Notre Dame as a whole to better connect with the South Bend community,” junior Lindsay Huth, Student Government communications director, said. “We’re hoping that through this, people will find interesting South Bend shops and restaurants that they’ll visit in the future and that they’ll discover all of the things the city has to offer.
The markets will take place from 12 p.m. until 5 p.m. Quad Markets, sponsored by Student Government, is the realization of an idea student body president Lauren Vidal and vice president Matt Devine, both seniors, introduced in their election platform last spring. Sophomore and director of community relations Jamie Grzybowski has been responsible for planning and executing the event and has worked closely with student government.
“Quad Markets will feature 18 different vendors from the local South Bend area, including a number of vendors from the South Bend farmers' market,” Grzybowski said. “We also engaged in a partnership with Whole Foods Market, who recruited additional local vendors and who will have its own booth at the market.”
Grzybowski said the variety of products on sale will include locally made jams, salsas, flavored honeys, gourmet popcorn, coffee, juices, produce and handmade goods such as scarves and jewelry that respect a student budget.
“Students, undergrads specifically, are our primary target,” Huth said. “But it’s also a football weekend, and we’re hoping to promote it to all of the visitors on campus as well.”
Grzybowski said shopping bags filled with information cards about the vendors will be available to the first 500 shoppers. Shoppers can take their purchases to-go or sit and enjoy them at an inside seating area within the market. She also said shoppers should bring cash, as a limited number of vendors accept debit or credit cards.
“Students can stock up on dorm groceries, buy an afternoon snack or treat themselves to a handcrafted good all from one convenient location,” Grzybowski said.
Huth said the event is about more than just food and is part of student government's hope to integrate Notre Dame and the greater South Bend community.
“South Bend isn’t just a place for students to perform service projects," she said. "It’s a great community with awesome resources and culture. Our thought was that if we bring some of the city’s great shops to the students, they’ll realize how great they are and want to visit in the future or even explore other South Bend options.”
