East Quad Farmers Market

The East Quad Farmers Market is back for spring quarter! The market is open from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. every Wednesday, through June 1.

Health Education and Promotion, part of Student Health Services, joined with several other university units in launching the market in the fall of 2007, in the wake of survey data showing that many students were not adhering to the federal government's recommendations for the intake of fruits and vegetables.

The latest survey data, from 2009, indicated that more than 60 percent of UC
Davis students ate two or fewer servings of nutrition-packed fruits and
vegetables a day. The government recommends seven to nine servings a day for the average student, according to Health Education and Promotion, which notes that the specific recommendation for each person is dependent on gender, height, weight and activity level.

Figuring that students may not have time to get off campus to buy fruits and veggies, Health Education and Promotion and its partners decided to bring the market to the students — and staff and faculty, too. The market operates weekly during fall and spring quarters.

Whenever the market is open, Health Education and Promotion is there, at a table, educating students, staff and faculty on the importance of eating fruits and vegetables — and offering East Quad Farmers Market buttons and prizes: Spin the prize wheel, answer a true-false question, and walk away with an East Quad Farmers Market tote bag, a flying disc, a pad of paper and a pen, or a $1 voucher to use at the farmers market.

New this quarter: The "frequent buyer card," available at the Health Education and promotion table. Buy something on five market days, get your card stamped, and receive an entry in a drawing (to be conducted at the end of the quarter) for a gift basket from the Davis Farmers Market.

Health Education and Promotion's partners in the East Quad Farmers Market: the ASUCD Coffee House, ASUCD Environmental Policy and Planning Commission, Campus Recreation, Campus Unions, Davis Farmers Market Foundation, Davis Food Co-op and University Dining Services.

More information is available online. Once you get to the website, you will have the option of signing up for weekly e-mail reminders about the market.

Spring wines and staff pins

Spring is in the air and Staff Assembly pins will be on many people's lapels at the next Wednesday Night Wine Flight, April 6.

The wine tastings are held monthly, at the Gunrock Pub (on the south side of the Silo), and the April edition will be a staff pin event — wear your pin and you will gain admission for $8, instead of the regular $10.

If you don't have a pin, you can buy one at the door, for $5; you will not only save on your admission to the wine tasting, but your new pin will entitle you to many other discounts that are available in the staff pin program. Staff Assembly puts the money it collects from staff pin sales into scholarships for staff members' dependents.

As for that night's featured wines, the organizers, as we said, are thinking of spring — and the freshness and renewal that the new season brings to our spirits. "This makes us think of wines with zest and freshness and some delicious pairings perfect for Easter dinner," the organizers said.

Wednesday Night Wine Flights take place the first Wednesday of every month, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The cost is $10 (or, $8 on April 6, with your staff pin), and no reservations are needed. The Gunrock Pub partners with the Vintage Aggies Wine Club to present Wednesday Night Wine Flights.

If you would like to purchase a staff pin in advance, or if you are not going to go to the wine tasting, but want a pin anyway, you can get one via campus mail or in person:

• Campus mail — Send a check for $5, payable to UC Regents, to Staff Assembly, Human Resources Administration Building. Make sure to include your name and department, so your pin can be delivered to you.

• In person — Come to the HR Administration Building on Orchard Road, just west of la Rue Road, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. or 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. You can pay by cash (exact change) or check at the front desk.

For more information, contact Tiva Lasiter, coordinator, Staff Assembly, (530) 752-098 or tlasiter@ucdavis.edu.

'Don't Put Your Name on the Label'

So says William S. “Bill” Price III in the title for his talk in the Walt Klenz Lecture Series at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science.

Here is the full title: "Don't Put Your Name on the Label: Hard-Earned Lessons About Making Wine in the Wine Business." As for Price, his title is owner, Sonoma Valley's Durell Vineyard.

His talk is scheduled for 4 p.m. Monday, April 18, in the RMI's Sensory Theatre, and a reception is planned afterward. Admission is free and open to the public; registration is required and can be arranged online (look for the link below).

Treasury Wine Estates (formerly Beringer Blass Wine Estates) established the
Walt Klenz Lecture Series in honor of the winery's former chief executive officer, in recognition of his many contributions to the wine industry. Lectures focus on the business of wine and are aimed at students with the goal of giving them a glimpse of the many facets of the wine industry, based on the speaker’s expertise.

Registration and more information.