Nurturing (the) Environment

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Buying Local: October 2008

The leaves have officially turned color, signaling the dwindling time for the Warren Green residents to shop at local farmer’s markets: Most are closed during winter months. The students are considering one final “big shop” toward the end of the season and freezing the bounty for winter. But for now, the students are still rising early to get the best the local farmers have to offer.

The morning after Halloween is bright and sunny as sleepy-eyed seniors Ida Griesemer and Aaron McMullin walk to the car. Griesemer slips into the driver’s seat, the vestiges of her Halloween makeup lingering around her eyes, and leans over to open the door for the lanky McMullin; the two drive quietly to the Bronxville Farmer’s Market.

It takes a lot of dedication to the environment for a college student to get up this early on a Saturday. But the Warren Green students manage to stay true to their sustainable ideals without coming off like zealots when talking about their ecologically conscious lifestyle with their peers. Warren Green is not greener-than-thou.

As Yesenia Marquetti noted at the beginning of the semester, “We want to make the house super fun and leave the door open so other students can see what we’re all about.”

Educating the SLC community about green living is one of the house’s mandates. Two weeks ago, Warren Green undertook one such educational opportunity by hosting more than 200 students for dinner. All the residents pitched in to serve a vegetable stew—and to make sure that everyone felt welcome, which is one of the main values of the house.

“A lot of people were really psyched,” McMullin says of the successful event. “They wanted to see more.”

Griesemer and McMullin arrive at the farmer’s market armed with canvas bags and one cardboard box. Twenty minutes later, they are hauling this week’s bounty to the

trunk of Griesemer’s car. Comparing what they spent ($80)

to what they received (a boxful of apples; large quantities of potatoes, garlic, onions, kale, squash, and tomatoes; two dozen eggs; a gallon of cider), McMullin is pleased. “Every time we come, I’m amazed—it’s like, we got that much food for that many dollars?”

Lack of sleep doesn’t keep Ida Griesemer ’09 from the farmer’s market