ST PAUL, Minn. — If you're looking for a unique, local gift for the food lover in your life, here's an idea: The Meat and Dairy Salesroom on the University of Minnesota's St. Paul campus.
The salesroom is stocked with cheeses, ice cream, brats, chicken wings, honey, and other meats, all produced by students in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, or CFANS.
"All the meat products that you see [in the salesroom] were made on site with the animal science program," said student Olivia Smith, a junior at the U. "The cheeses and the ice cream that we make come from the cows just up the hill at the barn. So it really does not get much fresher than this."
The salesroom is open once a week, every Wednesday afternoon. It offers students a chance to see their end product get to consumers, and customers a chance to buy food produced locally by students.
"It is a bit of a living classroom," said Ryan Cox, an associate professor in the Department of Animal Science. "Some of the animals are here on campus. The processing is done in this building. So it's making a very, very short trip to our salesroom. It's not getting on a truck. It's getting on maybe a cart and going upstairs."
Jordan McCallum, meat laboratory supervisor, says some customers come for the unique foods that can only be found at the salesroom, like their special 'Row the Boat' brat, developed in coordination with football coach P.J. Fleck.
"The previous supervisor had asked [Fleck] what he would like in a brat and he said beer and cheese," said McCallum. "So, we made a beer and cheese brat called the 'Row the Boat' brat, with pepperjack cheese, for P.J."
If you're interested in going, learn more here or check out these details:
What: CFANS Market, Meat and Dairy Salesroom
1354 Eckles Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55108
When: 2-5 p.m. Wednesdays