I Support the Saskatoon Farmers' Market - Here's Why

Local Food that is Good, Clean, and Fair 
I spend over half my weekly food budget at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market, purchasing everything from eggs and lentils to fruit and vegetables. This is a very deliberate decision. I want to eat food that is grown and produced locally. I want to be able to greet my food producer with a smile (and many of them are now friends). I want to keep my dollars in the local economy – to support local residents rather than large multinational corporations based in another country.

It’s harder in winter, but I eat seasonally as much as possible and I’m grateful for farmers with covered fields (Floating Gardens, Grandora Gardens, Kaleidoscope) who extend the season as much as possible.

Is it expensive? Possibly, but I believe in aligning my purchases with my values. I’d rather spend money on food that is healthy and that provides an income for my fellow citizens than on an extra pair of shoes or a new dress.

I feel safer buying food locally. Yes, there is still a chance the food will be contaminated but, knowing that I can chat with the farmer who grows the food, picks, and packages it, provides me with a much-appreciated sense of security.

Buying locally connects me with nature, the weather, and the seasons. I commiserate with the farmers about a late spring. I cheer when asparagus first appears at the market, and I sadly wave goodbye when Little Quail Orchards leaves their final autumn market.

I have a greater appreciation of what goes into growing or producing the food I buy. I’m grateful that Michelle is up half the night baking scones so that they will be fresh for her customers on Saturday morning. I know, and am grateful for, the long hours the Simpkins family has put in for many, many years growing and harvesting vegetables. I sympathize when an early frost cuts short the growing season and cuts into the farmers’ income.

Where Will I Shop Next Year? 
I am grieving this week’s announcement by the City of Saskatoon that they won’t be renewing the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market Co-operative’s lease for the space they have occupied for the last 11 years. They say they want a market that operates 6 days a week with more activity and full animation. Well, that’s not realistic for local farmers who need to be out in their fields seeding and weeding and harvesting. It’s not realistic for small-scale food producers who spend their week shopping and cooking in order to sell fresh baking or canned goods.

It’s fun visiting Granville Public Market, but it’s a glorified supermarket. You’re not meeting local farmers or supporting the local economy. And not all public markets are as successful as Vancouver’s. Visit Victoria’s Public Market and you’ll find a food court and a few food-related businesses. It’s a sad place with none of the life and energy of a farmers’ market – and certainly none of the personal interaction.

The Saskatoon Farmers’ Market has worked very, very hard to support the local community. They’ve collaborated with the Saskatoon Open Door Society to allow small businesses to test-market unique foods at pop-up kitchens. Thursday Night Art Markets offer local artists a chance to showcase their creations. The Market hosts a wide variety of events from this weekend’s Seabuckthorn Festival to children’s cooking classes, Easter cake decorating, and best rhubarb recipe contests. Over 7,000 people visit the Market on a busy Saturday and the Market directly or indirectly employs more than 100 people, generating millions of dollars in local economic activity.

Saskatchewan prides itself on its agricultural heritage. I worry that we have lost touch with the reality of family farms and local food production in a drive towards bigger farms and bigger profits driven by exports.

What does our future hold if we see food as a commodity rather than essential to human life? What will we become if we value tourist attractions over local food security?

If you believe in the value of family farms, local food, and the local economy, I encourage you to contact your City Councillor and throw your support behind the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market Co-operative.