Farmers markets in BC are bigger than ever, and local farmers are eager to use them to make more fresh produce available.
A study by the BC Association of Farmers Markets and University of Northern BC shows last year was the best ever for markets, contributing more than $233 million to the provincial economy, a 28% increase since 2012.
Mariette Sluyter runs Whitaker Farm in Merville, and says locally-grown produce is fresher, lasts longer, tastes better, and a crucial part of Vancouver Island’s food security.
“That’s our job, to ensure that we’re here and we are your baseline food,” she says. “We are so far from food secure [on the Island] but we have grown so much in the decade that I’ve been doing this, that it’s remarkable to see.”
She says most people don’t realize the Island only has enough food to feed the population for about three days. Most Island communities are reliant on daily deliveries of food coming in on trucks via the ferries, making local producers crucial in an emergency. Sluyter says the lessons learned during the COVID pandemic made the flaws in the food supply system highly visible, drawing attention to the importance of local farms.
But perhaps the biggest benefit of locally-grown produce is how it’s grown by our friends and neighbours, she adds. Sluyter says her farm employs about five people and makes sure to pay them a living wage, because being a responsible employer is an important part of sustainable agriculture.
She says it’s understandable how many people struggling to balance budgets these days may not consider local farm stands and markets, where prices tend to be higher than grocery chains, but points out a reason for the increased cost is to make sure farm workers can afford to pay their own bills. Besides, she adds, Island-grown carrots, peas, salad greens and other veggies just taste better, because they are freshly-harvested, not spending weeks in transit from other countries.
Whitaker Farms is launching a new food box program and expanding into the Campbell River market this spring — they already serve the Comox Valley market — called the Community Supported Agriculture box. Sluyter says it’s modelled after similar programs but the difference is, this one is about building a relationship between customer and farmer.
People can pre-order boxes now, and pick them up weekly at the market during the summer. The program will run for 16 weeks, and each week customers will get a box of whatever is fresh at the farm, including salad greens, turnips, spinach, strawberries, carrots, and much more.
For more information, visit Whitaker Farm online.Â
