Eat Outside the Box

Duke Mobile Farmers Market makes eating healthy easy

By Elizabeth Michalka, Working@Duke

Thursday, March 6, 2008

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Durham, NC -- Christine Tenekjian was bored with buying the same fruits and vegetables week after week. As a Duke Diet and Fitness Center clinical dietitian, Tenekjian knows that eating produce is key to a healthy diet.

“I had to step out of my box to try something new,” Tenekjian said.

Last year, Tenekjian signed up for the Duke Mobile Farmers Market, an initiative through Live For Life, Duke’s employee health program. Every week, she picked up her share from WeatherHand Farm at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. Over the fall and winter, Tenekjian signed up with Coon Rock Farm – the only farm that offered produce during colder months. The farm, outside Hillsborough, is run by Richard Holcomb and his family.

What Foods Will Be Available? 

As one of the participating farms in the Duke Farmers Mobile Market, Coon Rock Farm outside Hillsborough will bring a variety of fruits and vegetables during the spring/early summer months. To learn more about what food items that will be available, and some tasty recipes to use, click here.

“There was always something different in the box,” Tenekjian said. “I like the idea of the farmer choosing the produce for me. Whenever I got something new, it was a nice challenge. I looked up recipes and learned how to cook things like turnips, kohlrabi and a variety of leafy greens. Now I’m better equipped to tell my clients how to prepare different vegetables.”