With kale, arugula and sunchokes in hand, local farmers are gearing up to bring their fresh produce into town for the first Squamish Farmers’ Market of the season.
Nutrient Dense Farm from Brackendale will be joining Plenty Wild Farms of Pemberton, Stony Mountain Farm of the Upper Squamish Valley and around 60 other vendors at the corner of Cleveland Avenue and Victoria Street on Saturday.
“We have so many people doing amazing things in Squamish and the surrounding area,” said market manager Andrea Wickham-Foxwell, noting that the focus of the market is on farmers and their products but there will be a variety of other local vendors.
The market runs every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. until the end of October.
In addition to farmers selling garden-fresh vegetables, organic eggs and other products, vendors will offer a variety of locally made food and drinks and handmade arts and crafts.
Pemberton Distillery, which makes vodka, gin and absinthe from organic potato spirit, will be on site, along with Squamish Water Kefir Co., Spark Kombucha, Golden Crust bakery and dozens of other businesses.
Vendors also travel to the market from other areas of the Lower Mainland, including The Salt Dispensary, a home-based business in Delta that makes 35 kinds of smoked and flavoured salts, as well as salted caramels and specialty salted condiments such as paprika and garlic.
The last full Squamish Farmers’ Market was held indoors in March, and a number of vendors have already taken part in two smaller pop-up markets outside at the downtown location in April.
The market usually draws 2,500 to 3,000 people per day, said the market’s treasurer, Patrick Demers, noting that these numbers are from 2012 and the market has grown since then.
“We pull a lot of traffic off the highway going to Whistler. We also have many people from North and West Van who love the drive up here,” he said. “But local support is what drives the market. It’s essential. The more locals come out and support the farmers, the more the farms can commit to growing.”
Demers said the market has grown in the past few years partly due to the new addition of food trucks and businesses that specialize in alcohol, such as Gillespie’s Fine Spirits, a Squamish-based company that produces gin, vodka and lemoncello.
“We have a lot of variety this year. We have local companies testing their products at the market. It’s a great way to see what the public thinks,” he said.
The Squamish Climate Action Network will also be on site beginning on the May long weekend with a Zero Waste Station to demonstrate how to recycle and compost properly.
“We’ll be helping people by providing clear guidelines on what can be recycled and how to recycle it,” said Linda Kelly-Smith, a director of the Climate Action Network.
“We’ll also be letting them know how to properly recycle at home.”
The Squamish Farmers’ Market is looking for more volunteers.
To find out more, email [email protected] or send the market a private message on Facebook.
