The Langley Community Farmers Market started up again on June 16 with a solid turn out, following a one-year hiatus. To breathe new life into its return this year, the weekly market has hired a marketing manager to help generate a buzz in the community. It seems to be paying off. More than 250 people …
farmers' market
Market restrictions lifted
The lifting of restrictions on non-food vendors at farmers markets is music to the ears of the Coombs Farmers Institute, which will be able to hold its annual Seedy Sunday event on March 28. The province restricted the sale of non-food items at farmers markets in December as part of a wide range of measures …
BC farmers markets go online
Approximately 70 farmers markets in BC plan to take online orders this summer thanks to a provincial grant of $55,000. “The online thing is not replacing physical farmers markets,” says Heather O’Hara, exective director of the BC Association of Farmers’ Markets, which represents 145 markets across the province. Online sales won’t replace what the province’s …
Farmers partner with chefs
Registrations topped 430 for the second edition of the BC Ministry of Agriculture’s networking and marketing event, “Every Chef Needs a Farmer, Every Farmer Needs a Chef.” Attendance was up by half from last year, necessitating a move to the PNE Forum where more than 55 exhibitors from major commodity groups including the BC Dairy …
Farm market banks on relationship-building
LADNER – In Delta’s recent civic election, newcomer Alicia Guichon won her council seat by a landslide. In second place for votes was veteran Lois Jackson, who ran for council after 19 years as mayor. Jackson trailed Alicia by over 1,000 votes. Guichon was unique among council candidates, and not just because at 30 years …
Farmers’ markets focus on cultivating trust
VICTORIA – Consumers look to farmers’ markets as a trusted source of wholesome local produce. But as an undercover investigation in Ontario last year discovered, not all vendors are honest about their sources. Sometimes, what they claim to grow is from a wholesaler, a phenomenon not unknown at some markets in BC. The issue came …