This year’s UA Food Day Fair seeks to use its platform to inform students of issues involved with food sustainability.
“Last year, we had right around 1,000 to 1,200 people show up,” said Sarah Marrs, the coordinator of Food Day Fair and a nutrition counselor for UA Campus Health Service.
The Food Day Fair will be held on the UA Mall on Oct. 14 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
“This year, we have two large tents instead of one and are also going to be right next to the Farmer’s Market that day,” Marrs said. “I definitely anticipate that we’ll have more foot-traffic because students are going to be drawn to the Mall.”
According to a press release issued by Food Day Fair, it will “educate staff, students and the Tucson community to make healthy, sustainable food choices by providing interactive food experiences, including food demos, taste tests and exhibits.”
Marrs said that the event is designed for “student engagement and community education.”
The UA’s 2015 Food Day Fair will be sponsored by the UA Green Fund, the Well University Partnership, the UA Office of Sustainability and the UA Department of Nutritional Sciences.
“It has representatives from all parts of campus as well as organizations off campus,” said Ben Champion, director of the Office of Sustainability. “It’s an opportunity for students to get to know what’s going on in the community around food issues.”
One of Food Day’s biggest goals is to broaden the relationship between university affiliates and organizations within the Tucson food community.
“We host a lot of interactive exhibits that provide educational experiences, food demonstrations and taste tests that bring together all of the departments on campus and the community organizations that support the priorities of national food day,” Marrs said.
There are over 40 different organizations between the UA and the Tucson community that are going to be participating in this year’s event.
“The fact that we have so many different groups come out on the Mall on this day helps bring those like-minded groups together so they can find out what other people in the community are doing,” Marrs said.
Many different campus organizations, such as the UA Campus Pantry, have played an important role in making this year unique from others in the past. This year, Food Day collaborated with Campus Pantry to create a “Can-struction Contest,” where people will be able to vote on their favorite designs. They will also have an established space for people to donate non-perishable items to be collected for students and staff in need.
The UA’s Food Day Fair will give students the ability to meet and engage with some of the Tucson organizations that are currently involved with issues of food sustainability.
“It’s an opportunity for students to network with organizations and businesses in the community who are working with these issues,” Champion said. “I think it’d be a great opportunity for them to identify internships that can supplement what they are getting in the classroom.”
With many different organizations coming from campus and the community, students will have the opportunity to see the dynamics of how food sustainability is evolving within the Tucson community.
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