From the seed of an idea, the Coquitlam Farmers Market has ripened to be one of the most successful farmers' markets in the region.
Now, with thousands of people visiting the Coquitlam summer market and the Port Moody winter market to pick up locally grown produce as well as sauces, meat, fish, eggs and bread, plus handmade crafts, the market has become a staple in many people's lives.
As it prepares to celebrate its 20th birthday, founder Terri Evans and current executive director Tabitha McLoughlin spoke to The Tri-City News about the importance of supporting the region's farmers and the need to develop policies to make locally grown food more accessible.
Their comments come at a time when Port Coquitlam is looking to update its official community plan to promote agriculture and Metro Vancouver is finalizing a food security plan to ensure future generations have access to local food.
Examples of recent successes they'd like to see more of include the Coquitlam Munch project, where businesses in Austin Heights look after vegetable planters, with people harvesting greens to make their salads. They would also like to see more public produce, community orchards and edible trails, where roadsides are planted with fragrant rosemary and mint, not just grass.
They are great promoters of community gardens, believing that getting food from the soil a block away instead of by truck over thousands of kilometres is "what we should value as a healthy city," Evans said.
But with increasing pressure to find land for housing, and the new Fremont Connector likely to divide land in the Agriculture Land Reserve, the two worry that small farms in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam could soon disappear.
"The highest and best use is farmland," Evans said. "We need to protect that space."
Among their suggestions is leasing unused land to young farmers, providing incentives for farming and supporting a price structure that ensures farmers are paid fairly for the work they do and the investments they make.
"Small plots of land are critical to local agriculture… We need to start growing food for ourselves," Evans said.
If people placed more value on local food over cheap produce from elsewhere, a strong foodie culture could develop here, one that appreciates local food, slow cooking and eating together.
"The only valuable things can't be the next 30-storey tower," Evans said.
McLoughlin said the success of the Coquitlam Farmers Market shows people care about their food and this strength could be leveraged into land policies and other measures to protect farmers and promote farming.
"You can have this sense of communal ownership," she said, pointing to the success of so-called Brewer's Row in Port Moody, where four craft breweries have are drawing crowds — from the Tri-Cities and beyond — to Murray Street.
"It's promoted a lot of interest in the community and business, and other dimensions of the foodie style."
There is no doubt that shopping at farmers' markets has become a popular community activity: It's free to go, there is always entertainment and activities for children and, 20 years on, it is no longer a novelty.
Whether this success can be transformed into a strong policy of food security in the Tri-Cities is still a question but Evans and McLoughlin say the market will be around for many more years and they promise to work with the community to support this idea.
EVENT SUNDAY
Coquitlam Farmers Market will be celebrating its 20th anniversary Sunday, July 17 with food, fun and activities. The party kicks off at 10 a.m. with opening remarks followed by a photo, where everyone joins in to create the number 20. The photo shoot will be followed by a cake cutting at 10:30 a.m. and a salmon barbecue.
There will also be kids' games and crafts, a photo booth and a display of hockey prowess by members of the Coquitlam Express. As well, 50 vendors will be on hand selling fresh produce, baked goods, handmade jewelry and artisan crafts.
Coquitlam Farmers Market is open Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through Oct. 30; it is located in the Dogwood Pavilion parking lot at 624 Poirier St. (entrance off Winslow Avenue).
Coquitlam Farmers Market started as a community economic development project by SFU students in 1996 and has been a gathering place for the community and an outlet for local crafters, bakers, and farmers to sell their goods. Everything available at the market has been made, baked, grown, or raised in B.C.
