[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IVG3M1yDac&w=560&h=315]

Thursday marked the first Elon Community Church Farmers Market of the semester, where community members gathered to support local businesses.

"The farmers market is a great example of local foods and people in the community coming together to distribute those local foods," said Joe Makowitz, a first-year Elon student.

Makowitz went to the ECC Farmers Market opening and says it is important for students to invest in local foods.

"There are fewer emissions being spent to get the foods from the farms to the consumers," Makowitz said. "It's also better to buy local because nationally and globally produced foods are more likely to have pesticides in them, which can be harmful to the body, and they are also likely to use fertilizers that can't always be processed in the body."

Makowitz said the farmers market was an outlet for his message, but there were other perks as well.

"I think just seeing the community out here together is definitely a really great thing because I've never actually been able to experience that at Elon," Makowitz said.

While the farmers market provides a place for the community to gather and enjoy warm weather, it also supports local businesses and farmers.

"I sell out every time, people love it," said ECC Farmers Market founder Fabian Lujan.

Lujan is originally from Argentina and after moving to the United States, his family felt that something was missing.

"Because in Argentina and Europe you can have a bakery in every neighborhood, or two maybe, so every day you eat fresh bread," Lujan said. "Over here it's different, so we missed that and started making for us and for sale."

Lujan started the Farmers Market with his wife five years ago through the Elon Community Church and says it has been a success ever since.

"We used to attend different farmers markets, so we know those people and then some people started adding every year. We have a waiting list now," Lujan said.

Lujan says he enjoys meeting his customers and feels his work is an important part of the community.

"You have to know your farmer," Lujan says. "It's important they can ask how you treat your plants. Do you add chemicals? How are your cows? Do you milk them up? I don't know, people come with different questions all the time, but it's good. You need to know where you get your food; it's an important part of your life"