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Duke Farmers Market 2018 Opens Friday

The weekly market returns April 27 on the Duke Medicine Pavilion Greenway

The market runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Friday through Sept. 28.
The market runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Friday through Sept. 28.

Raymond Brisson exerts self-control when he walks by the Great Harvest Bread Company at Duke Farmers Market.

Flavors like apple cinnamon, caraway rye and potato chive tempt him into buying more than one loaf, or nibbling on it right away.

“I ended up eating a whole loaf of apple cinnamon bread over a weekend,” said Brisson, a simulation technology specialist for Duke University School of Nursing. “Everything at the farmers market is so delicious. It’s all so fresh.”

Brisson will have to brace himself April 27, when the Duke Farmers Market returns to the Duke Medicine Pavilion Greenway, outside of the Trent Semans Center for Health Education. The market, an integral offering in the Healthy Duke initiative, runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Friday through Sept. 28.

Twelve vendors will sell a selection of locally grown produce, pasture-raised meats, eggs, cheeses, breads, olive oil, and body care products. Local restaurants, including NOSH and Makus Empanadas, will sell lunch during the market.

“The Duke Farmers Market provides the Duke community with a hub for learning about local food systems, sustainability and the resources that Healthy Duke and other campus groups provide,” said Cassandra Callas, health education specialist and market coordinator with LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke’s employee wellness program. “It gives employees an opportunity to take a break and step away from the desk.”

On opening day, the market hosts NOSH, which will be grilling burgers, and The Durham Originals, which advocates for eco-friendly initiatives in Durham.

Great Harvest Bread Company sells loaves every week at the Duke Farmers Market.Willa Bonner, an administrative specialist for Duke Health Technology Solutions, visits the market a few times each month. She likes to shop at the stand for Lyon Farms, which is based in Creedmoor.

Bonner always makes sure to get a basket of strawberries. If she isn’t snacking on the fruit at her desk, she’s slicing them up to put in granola or yogurt.

“It’s a great feeling to know the people growing your food are from just up the road,” Bonner said. “From one year to the next, you remember the faces and build relationships.”

Be on the lookout for special events at the Duke Farmers Market through the season as it partners with other community organizations like Sustainable Duke and Duke Campus Farm.

“It is good to know Duke is thinking of its employees by providing something like this for us,” Bonner said. “Visiting the market is always such a nice outing.”

Be sure to share your Duke Farmers Market pictures on social media using #HealthyDuke.