May 16, 2012

Celebrating locally produced foods
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The banner celebrates the farmers market co-founded by a Gillings School alumna. (Photo by Tom Fuldner)

The banner celebrates the farmers market co-founded by a Gillings School alumna and current staff member. (Photo by Tom Fuldner)

Jelly jars filled with wildflowers and dried herbs atop burlap tablecloths. Hay bales cushioning baskets of locally grown fruits and vegetables. A five-star meal made all the better by the guests’ awareness of where all the food was grown or raised – within 50 miles of Chapel Hill, N.C.

On Nov. 10, 2011, the School hosted the fifth annual World of Difference dinner to honor its generous supporters. The evening celebrated the Carrboro Farmers Market, which has provided the Chapel Hill area with nutritious locally grown foods for more than 30 years. Locally familiar businesses – Brinkley Farms, Danan Farms, Maple View Farm (which provided ice cream for all), Perry Lowe Orchards, Ray Family Farms, Sunburst Trout Farms – made the meal delicious and nutritious.

Dr. P. K. Sen and his wife Gauri Sen. (Photo by Tom Fuldner)

Dr. P. K. Sen and his wife Gauri Sen. (Photo by Tom Fuldner)

Few people know of the long relationship between the School and the farmers market. In 1979, alumna and current staff member Barbara (Bobbi) Wallace, MPH, co-founded the market with local physician Dr. Bill Dow. Wallace organized the network as part of her master’s degree project, and it continues as an example of a community asset that grew out of a student project at the School.

During the dinner, Dean Barbara K. Rimer recognized Pranab K. Sen, PhD, Cary C. Boshamer Distinguished Professor of biostatistics. A revered scholar, teacher and humanitarian, Sen has established the Pranab K. Sen Distinguished Visiting Professorship in Biostatistics. He began his own association with UNC as a visiting professor in 1965, and now hopes his gift will allow biostatisticians from around the world to exchange ideas with the UNC statistics community.


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Carolina Public Health is a publication of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health. To view previous issues, please visit sph.unc.edu/cph.

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