Third year Lena Hu has been actively working with local producers in order to provide UCI with its unique quarterly farmer’s market since 2009. The idea of hosting a farmer’s market was initially suggested by Kamrin Klauschi, and Hu was soon appointed the position of Farmer’s Market Coordinator. Hu was the first to actually implement a budget, contact local farmers, and work with ASUCI to actualize the possibility of a farmer’s market saying, “it was definitely a learn as you go process when I had the position but I knew it had a lot of flexibility and potential.” Hu fundraised by going to “go green” clubs on campus and was able to receive $500 funding from TGIF to distribute organize t-shirts and tote bags in order to promote the first farmer’s market which consisted of 15-18 vendors.
Hu intended the farmer’s market to be a beneficial event for the student body and not solely for profit. A main concern is to distinct the farmer’s market from the vendor fairs by seeking hand-made, unique, and organic products through local vendors. With her passion in business management and human resource Hu explained, “I wanted to do farmer’s market because I found it similar to running a business. Initially, my goal was to bring in as many vendors as possible and raise money for ASUCI events because many students are unaware that $60,000 of vendors and farmer’s market goes towards ASUCI’s annual Shocktoberfest event.” In the beginning Hu stated that she simply thought of farmer’s market as a side job but soon realized the great potential the farmer’s market has saying, “I want to work on adding new attractions like music, increasing vendors, and making it a more family-oriented event. But accomplishing such a large event is far from simple. As a student herself, Hu stated that many vendors would become frustrated and skeptical towards the fact that the market was simply run by students.
The day of, Hu wakes up at 4am, being sure to grab hot donuts for her eight interns. After checking into the ASUCI office at 5am, a check-in booth it set up for the vendors to sign into as they arrive from 6am-8am. Hu’s team consists of operations, accounting, scouting, and marketing interns who all help her to help situate the vendors and tend to their needs. Despite complications with personal preferences, parking issues and more, Hu and her interns manage to provide a wonderful farmer’s market for UCI students and faculty to enjoy saying, I learned a lot this year about satisfying both ends of the spectrum while understanding customer service and negotiation.” Hu continues to strive to improve the potential and awareness of the farmer’s market through new business tactics and marketing strategies.