Warm summer days and cool nights have resulted in a bountiful crop of farm-fresh fruits and veggies at the Coquitlam Farmers Market just in time for Thanksgiving meal preparations.
Market manager Tabitha McLaughlin said market-goers will enjoy the best of seasonal produce and get recipe ideas for side dishes from market vendors who will be selling their wares at the market in the parking lot of Coquitlam’s Dogwood Pavilion.
“We have three demos happening and each one is done by one of our vendors,” McLaughlin told The Tri-City News. “They are going to be all made with products you’d find at the market.”
With less than a month left of Sunday markets before the switch to the winter market at the Port Moody recreation complex, which starts Nov. 5, McLaughlin said the market has been holding steady with an average of 2,500 attendees and roughly 60 vendors.
With an 80/20 split between food products and crafts, McLaughlin said the Coquitlam Farmers Market has found a satisfactory mix that has kept market-goers coming all season.
As well, a number of initiatives drew new faces, including coffee-and-chat sessions with city councillors, and the Power of Produce program to teach kids about how food is grown, which won rave reviews from parents.
“That was really successful, that was intended to empower kids to choose their own food, McLaughlin said.
More than 200 children participated, learning about local food and earning a $3 token each week to spend on produce of their choice.
An unexpected surprise was parent feedback that the youngsters improved their reading and writing skills over the summer by participating in Power of Produce, which had them keeping track of their food knowledge in a passport.
“Last week, we had a mom come to us and she had heard from her daughter’s teacher about how well her reading was.”
While the weather might cool and get damp over the coming weeks, McLaughlin reminds Tri-City residents not to forget about the Coquitlam Farmers Market that will continue through to Sunday, Oct. 29, with the market hours running from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
And next weekend, Oct. 15, there will be a Harvest Festival, with Centennial secondary school culinary arts students making stew they will sell to raise funds for their program.
“They came up with what they are going to make and will run the whole food service area,” McLaughlin said.
• For more information about upcoming markets, visit makebakegrow.com.
