Local farmers markets hoping for good year for produce

People will see a variety of vegetables, whenever they are ready. Usually the market offers radishes, spinach, peas, and other early crops first in the season.

Priel said the impact of the current high inflation will likely draw more people to the farmers markets this year.

“Maybe the price of groceries will bring people out more,” she said, adding there may be a cost savings for families to buy some of their groceries at the farmers markets rather than in the stores.

Battlefords And District Farmers Market will be held again at the Living Faith Chapel parking lot Saturdays mornings. Organizers are still determining whether to have a market in the town also, depending on the response.

“If we do go ahead, we just need vendors,” Priel said of the town location, usually held outside Battleford Furniture.

Details of the town site are still to be announced.

Territorial Drive Farmers Market will open around mid-June, running Friday evenings at the usual location at the Frontier Mall front parking lot in North Battleford.

Christine Vangool, who manages the market with her husband Joe, said plans are to expand the market this year, offering more space for music, car shows and vendors.

“We’ll have fruit, vegetables, baking, a good variety…all the regular market [items],” she added.

Vangool would like to see more people come to the market this season.

“Being an outdoor market, the traffic seems fairly strong regardless,” she said. “I’m hoping with more [people traveling] it will grow I’m sure.”

Those visiting the market will see B.C. fruit; cherries and other items, as well as radishes, and assorted early veggies. Then, early in July, vendors will have more fresh produce for the market once everything is ready.

In Battleford, Wolf Garden & Open Market runs at 442 22nd St. W., about a block west of Hwy 40 on the edge of town. The year-round market is open Wednesdays to Sundays.

Manager Wanda Wolf grows produce in her greenhouse on the property as well.

“We’ll have plants and vegetables come summertime or in the fall,” she said, adding that the vendors will also have their vegetables ready as soon as they start coming in.

Wolf is looking forward to getting ready for the new produce season.

“I’m very excited about it,” she said. “There is so much demand for locally-grown products that it just can’t happen fast enough…And my strawberries have nice leaves on them [now] so I’m excited about that.”

Meadow Lake market

Further north, the Meadow Lake Farmers Market will be starting its run again beginning June 10.

New this year, the market will be held at the Home Hardware parking lot, instead of the former location near the museum.

Market manager Vicki Cockrum said the space was made available to the market, so they accepted the offer. The new site also provides a large umbrella to cover all the vendors’ booths.

“It looks like we will be seeing some new vendors because of the convenience of not having to set up their own pop-up tents,” she said.

The market has three main vendors who provide vegetables.

“They usually include your staples, which are potatoes, carrots, cucumbers, onions,“ Cockrum said. “Every once in a while someone tries something new, but the core of the produce we sell are staple vegetables.”

Cockrum and her husband, Roger, grow produce in their large greenhouse, as well as outside in a traditional garden, so they always have produce to display.

“We’ll probably have some lettuce and onions available at the first market, which is the second Friday in June,” she said. “For anybody who is planting outside, it will of course be a little later.”

Cockrum noted last year market gardening was a challenge due to the drought on the Prairies. However, she is staying optimistic.

“We had to haul water in a big tank because our source of water dried up,” she said. “Hopefully, we’ll have a little more consistent rain this summer, but we never know.“

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW

by Angela Brown

Local farmers markets hoping for good year for produce

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