San José State’s Student Union and Student Involvement hosted a free mini farmers market on Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 7th Street with Spartan-themed tote bags, t-shirts and produce for commuter appreciation week. 

Student Involvement hosted a series of events to help commuter students connect with campus resources, according to the SJSU Getting Involved Instagram flyer.

From kale to oranges, the market offered a variety of produce to help student commuters with meals.  

Kaytlin Abad, assistant director for campus programming & leadership development of Student Involvement, said that around 500 students registered on the Sammy App and attended the event. 

The market intended to help students with basic needs and access to food to lessen worries about resources, according to Abad.

“This is our way of helping students with basic needs as well as easy access to food. By having the local farmer’s market and our mini free farmer’s market,” Abad said. “We hope that provides most, if not all of the attending students with one less thing they need to think about during their day.”

The market was located on 7th Street and opened at 11 a.m. with three different tents across from each other, dividing each booth from vegetables and fruits.

Students began to line up at the first booth, where they checked in and received a free t-shirt and tote bag to use for their picked groceries.

Each student was reminded to be mindful of the amount of produce they picked due to the limited availability of vegetables and fruits available. 

Produce provided at the market included kale, celery, onions, garlic, oranges, limes and bananas.

Kelsy Rodriguez, a psychology student and commuter, said that she was planning to visit the Spartan Food Pantry until she noticed the big lines forming on 7th Street.

“I was going to class, but then I came down and saw that there was something down here and I was just like, ‘Oh I was gonna go to the pantry anyways, I usually go every week’,” Rodriguez said. “So let me take advantage of this right now before I go to class.”

The Spartan Food Pantry is an on-campus food pantry that provides eligible students at SJSU with weekly access to a variety of food, according to a Spartan Food Pantry webpage. 

The pantry receives donations from the community and is partnered with Second Harvest of Silicon Valley and Hunger at Home, according to the same source.

Rodriguez said she found the market to be beneficial to her and other commuter students.

“For me personally, it’s hard for me to get food since I do live alone, so this actually helps me a lot so I have something to eat for the week and this on top of what I get from the pantry wouldn’t get me worried on where I’m going to get my next meal from,” Rodriguez said.

Reina Castrejon, a psychology student and commuter from Sunnyvale, said she attended the event because she needed groceries for the week.

“I also go to the food pantry to get my groceries and this market is helpful because at least I’m able to get some fruits and vegetables for my meal,” Castrejon said.

Abad said that the involvement team collaborated with C & L Produce and is talking to the Downtown San José Farmer’s Market organizers to source local products for next year’s event. 

C & L Produce is a family-owned wholesale produce company based in Oakland that has supplied fresh fruits, vegetables and other food service items to the Bay Area since 1949, according to its website.

“In addition to providing students with free produce, we hope to introduce them to and support local businesses,” Abad said. “We hope to accomplish both of those objectives during the next event.” 

Student Involvement is planning on having the farmers’ market as one of its regular events in the future.