On Sept. 30 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Bowling Green State University (BGSU) hosted the Health Fair and Farmers Market in the Lenhart Grand Ballroom. This event featured University offices, small businesses, local produce and non-profits to engage and educate students and community members.
The main attraction was the farmers market. Premier Produce One, the supplier for BGSU, serves Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana and Pennsylvania with their fresh and delicious products.
Chip Reeves, a representative of Premier Produce One, stressed their “focus on local products, local popcorn, local Cleveland pickles from Cleveland Kitchen, Corey Hill apples, all sorts of fun stuff.”
“The food tastes better when it’s local, it’s fresh,” Reeves said.
He was filled with helpful recommendations. “The kitchen pickles are out of sight. That homegrown popcorn…is my favorite, the Caramel Corn Brand…Killer brownies are delicious, but the best chocolate milk is right behind me, Snowville.” Another popular favorite was the chocolate croissants from Madeline’s Bakery in Toledo, which sold out in the first hour and a half, according to Izzy Lindsey, a Premier Produce One marketer.
Lindsey shared the purpose beyond supplying fresh food to students.
“Local farmers represent how we connect…you need to create the bridge between the farmers that are doing all this hard work and the universities and the schools that kind of show the products that are out there and are available…You want people to know how you can support communities around you,” Lindsey said.
BGSU Dining demonstrated how to prepare delicious dishes. Jeremy Skilles, the executive chef at BGSU, popped Shaggy Bark organic popcorn in a wok. BGSU’s Office of Health and Wellness offered a smoothie bike to get students active for a sweet snack.
Beyond culinary delights, physical health was emphasized.
Students were encouraged to find ways to stay active, through club sports to free recreational events and services on campus. Displays from yoga classes to rock wall climbing showed just how easy it is to get involved.
Additionally, COVID-19 vaccines and flu vaccines were offered to community members with insurance cards. But free services, provided by Wood County Hospital, educated attendees.
Teresa Merchock, the health educator for Wood County Hospital, provided “derma scans which is screening for skin cancer.”
In a few minutes, the machines would “look into the second layer of your skin, to see if there’s anything that’s pre-cancerous. We look at all the freckles. Most of us have a second layer…extra freckles that you cannot see and they come out in the sun,” Merchock explained.
Emotional support, from the PAWS team to BGSU Counseling Services, rounded out the importance of staying healthy.
Non-profits also showed their impact. Amy Coe, from the Wood County Alcohol Drug Addiction Mental Health Services, oversees the Wood County Suicide Prevention Coalition. She explained their mission.
“Citizens…get together and do events and promotion activities to bring awareness to suicide loss and suicide prevention,” Coe said. “We have different subcommittees that all meet and have different objectives that we try to accomplish, set by our strategic plan.”
These objectives range from decreasing the stigma of mental health through community events to crisis intervention training to youth and parent programs.
The BGSU Farmers Market and Health Fair connected the community with resources, local farmers, fresh produce and health services. Throughout Oct. 8 to 22, a smaller Farmers Market will be featured in the Lenhart Grand Ballroom on Wednesdays from 4 to 7 p.m.
