Is there room in the qathet region for another farmers' market?
That was an inquiry posed last year by the Central Farmers’ Market (CFM) working group, comprised of farmers and community members Darcy Broatch, Devon Hanley, Steve Short, Ron Berezan, Aaron Mazurek, Lori Brouwer and Kate Sutherland.
Now, after mostly positive feedback, with some trepidation from folks concerned about stepping on the toes of the popular Powell River Farmers' Market (PRFM), on McLeod Road, the CFM committee, a subcommittee of Skookum Food Provisioners’ Cooperative, is ready to launch a downtown farmers' market at the old Civic Arena site. The market will open Saturday, June 14, from 10 am to 1 pm, and run every Saturday until October 18.
"This has been the product of many years of conversation and thinking about how we can continue to grow the local food system," said Berezan, who is also the manager of Blueberry Commons in Wildwood. "The idea is to get more people buying more of their food from local sources and to make it as easy as possible for people to do that."
Sutherland said that so far, the committee has confirmed Terra Nostra Farm, Blueberry Commons Farm, GG’s Good Greens, Brut Charcuterie, Myrtle Point Heritage Farm, Nancy’s Bakery, Full Circle Donuts, Wild Scoop Ice Cream and Windfall Farms as vendors.
"Every week the CFM will provide a table for local nonprofit organizations to share their information and activities with the community," said Sutherland. "The idea is to make it easier for folks to walk, bicycle or bus to this new centrally located farmers’ market at beautiful Willingdon Beach."
Short is a retired farmer and joined the committee because of his concern about food security.
"There is no more important conversation right now than food security," said Short. "We could be growing a lot more here; there isn't anything wrong necessarily with the other market, but the whole point of the central market is for farmers to have better contact with consumers."
Hanley thinks farmers can step up and grow more in the region, and grow their customer base.
"We can do more to support farmers and food producers," said Hanley. "I am not a farmer, but I'm a big supporter of our farmers."
The group said it has support from City of Powell River, which, they added, wants to strengthen the region's local food system.
"There's a diversity of opinions about this," said Berezan. "But I think most people see it as one more way for people to buy local, and they're in support of it."
Berezan said the committee had conversations with Powell River Farmers’ Agricultural Institute about the possibility of working together, but in the end the CFM committee decided the best fit was partnering the Skookum Food Provisioners Cooperative.
"They are a great organization locally dedicated to supporting local food initiatives," said Berezan. "I really see it as, we are sister markets [with PRFM] in a lot of ways and we'll support each other."
Berezan believes the market might attract folks camping at Willingdon Beach Campsite, park visitors or anyone passing through on a bike, on foot or in a vehicle heading north of town.
"Skookum Food Provisioners Cooperative is an organization that's been around now for at least 15 years and has undertaken a variety of different initiatives supporting local food," said Berezan. "For many years they operated the fruit tree gleaning project and then also purchased an apple press available to people in the community."
Mazurek is a board member at the cooperative.
"There's no doubt that for farmers like ourselves, the best scenario is to sell directly to customers," said Berezan. "We do work with retailers, too, there's a role for that, but selling directly to customers is the best for the farm economy."
The business of agriculture is not easy, especially for smaller growers. High land costs, competition from large scale agriculture and market access are some of the barriers for smaller farms in BC.
"When people get to talk to the farmers and those involved in growing the food, those kinds of relationships are what create a vibrant, resilient food system," said Berezan. "Producers and consumers are just two sides of the same coin of a sustainable food system; we need them both, and so whatever we can do to strengthen those relationships is really important to me."
For more information, email centralfarmersmarketmanager@gmail.com.
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