I grew up in Delaware, a state many of you probably drive through to get to more exciting places. However, for me, Delaware’s abundance of farmers markets made me the number one farmers market fan. My undying love for them followed me to New York City, where I’m now a regular at the Local Farmer’s Market at the Marketplace at Kimmel.

Hosted by NYU Eats once a month, the in-person farmers market typically takes place on Wednesdays, with a virtual farmer’s market available through Grubhub.

This month, the in-person farmers market is Sept. 7 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. With one meal swipe, you can fill up an NYU Eats bag with all of your favorite produce. If securing all of my staple seasonal produce with my meal plan was a sport, I would be the top draft pick. To me, there is nothing more exhilarating than hauling my bag filled with fresh food down West Fourth Street, all for the price of a meal swipe.

Everything at Kimmel’s farmers market is locally sourced from upstate New York, Long Island, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Walking through tables of farm fresh produce makes my heart warm and my stomach full. There is often a wide array of leafy greens, berries and tomatoes that are so fresh I bite into them like apples. I have also found corn, eggplants, golden beets and fava beans that make for a perfect Mediterranean salad.

You can find me on Kimmel’s third floor at 11 a.m. sharp, scoping out the best seasonal produce my meal swipe can buy. I once made the amateur mistake of coming within the last hour of the farmers market’s time window, and I regret it to this day. I suggest you come as early as you can!

If you cannot attend the in-person farmers market, or you get there and all of your favorite vegetables are gone, do not fear — the virtual farmers market will answer your prayers. You can pre-order your favorite foods using Grubhub starting on Sept. 8 and pick them up at Kimmel on Sept. 15 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Unlike the in-person markets, the virtual option utilizes your Dining Dollars and you can fill your Grubhub cart to your heart’s content.

Before you groan that you could get a week’s worth of Starbucks drinks for the price of blueberries, hear me out. The virtual markets often have exclusive finds, such as coconut milk yogurt, cheese and fresh bread. I am still drooling over the juicy spring salad with strawberries, tomatoes, radishes, arugula and goat cheese that I made with my virtual market finds last semester. I have also made delicious yogurt parfaits, decadent scrambled eggs and insane charcuterie spreads.

If the Union Square Greenmarket is more your scene, I can respect that. However, there are few things I love more than the Kimmel farmers markets. Once a month, you will see me jogging up the Kimmel stairs to secure my spinach, then triumphantly waltz back down with an NYU Eats bag filled to the brim.

If the market has no fan, I have left this Earth.

Contact Sasha DuBose at [email protected].