Farm-fresh produce available to UNMC community

UNMC students and employees have until July 24 to sign up to receive farm-fresh, vegetables and herbs delivered to campus for 12 weeks this fall through the UNMC Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.

A produce bag.

Starting the week of Aug. 25, CSA, a coordinated effort to link farmers with individuals and families who desire to eat fresh produce and dairy and support the local farm economy, will begin delivery.

Robin Jaeckel, administrative associate for the associate dean’s office in the College of Public Health, coordinates UNMC’s corporate membership.

“We bring the farmer’s market to you. The bags are conveniently delivered to the Maurer College of Public Health building,” she said.

“It’s better than a farmer’s market because it saves on time, gas money and it costs less than the supermarket.”

A standard produce bag is $20 per week, and a standard produce bag plus bi-weekly eggs and cheese is $24 per week. A small loaf of bread from the Great Harvest Bread Company or Le Petite Bakery and eggs are available at additional cost. Participants also can order additional items available in the store from Tomāto Tomäto’s website and pick them up with their weekly bag.

The program, organized by Tomāto Tomäto, a year-round indoor farmer’s market in West Omaha, was first introduced to the UNMC campus two years ago and has been popular among employees, Jaeckel said.

Fresh food will be delivered to campus one day every week in the CSA bags until Nov. 24. “If you get something you don’t like or can’t have, you can swap it with another ‘bag buddy’ or donate it,” Jaeckel said. Bags also can be shared with co-workers.

Tomāto Tomäto also inserts a weekly newsletter in the bags that identifies the farmers who supplied the produce and simple recipes for the vegetables. Jaeckel also emails the bag’s contents and more recipes to participants a few days before the weekly delivery.

Contact Robin Jaeckel for more information or click here to obtain a UNMC corporate enrollment form. Return the forms to Jaeckel via email or at campus ZIP 4355.