{"id":162182,"date":"2023-06-21T13:22:23","date_gmt":"2023-06-21T17:22:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/?p=162182"},"modified":"2023-06-21T13:22:34","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T17:22:34","slug":"farmers-markets-building-a-sense-of-community-for-a-thriving-local-food-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/farmers-markets-building-a-sense-of-community-for-a-thriving-local-food-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Farmer\u2019s markets: building a sense of community for a thriving local food system\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brome Lake, Frelighsburg, Farnham, and Sutton are just some of the Brome-Missisquoi villages that have officially launched their farmer\u2019s markets for the summer and early fall season. The farmer's markets in the region have been slowly opening up since the beginning of June and participants are now set to welcome the hustle and bustle they bring to their villages.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Farmer\u2019s markets are known for being a place where people can stock up on fresh local goods and support farmers and producers, but over the years they have grown to be an important platform that builds a sense of community around food and a relationship between producers and consumers that allows small-scale farming to thrive in the Eastern Townships.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Remi Fournier, owner of Au coeur du pinnacle in Frelighsburg, and Jean-Martin Fortier, owner of farm Les Jardins de la Grelinette in Stanbridge East, said that farmer's markets continue to provide producers with an extra source of income throughout the summer, but it\u2019s the opportunity that these markets provide for producers to work with the community in order to develop a thriving food system that make them an important investment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you talk to the vast majority of producers, the farmer\u2019s market season is quite important. These are not typically large sized-businesses, we are all small business entrepreneurs and we are producing for the community. It\u2019s important in two ways: first it helps us connect with the community and our consumers, which is an experience in itself for the customers, and second, it\u2019s not a secret it\u2019s a way to sell direct. It finances a lot of our operations,\u201d said Fournier, an ecological vegetable producer that takes part in the Frelighsburg farmer\u2019s market.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Recognizing that the population only gets to experience the farmer\u2019s markets a few months out of the year, Fournier explained that sometimes people struggle to get out of their typical routine of shopping at the grocery stores. Once people have the opportunity to experience the the markets however, they almost become imbedded in the \u201cculture\u201d of the community, encouraging people to come together and invest in their local economy. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s that one time at the beginning of the season that usually triggers the whole summer routine. You wake up early, you go to the market, you buy the nicest products that are fresh, it\u2019s such an experience in your weekend. You can share those products with your loved ones, cook, and enjoy those flowers, it brings a lot of happiness. Force yourself a bit for the first few times and then it becomes a regular habit and it makes an entire difference,\u201d he highlighted.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fournier mentioned that the farmer\u2019s markets may not be the \u201cgreatest revenue driver\u201d for producers, but they do provide educational opportunities that help build a community willing to invest in the local food system of Brome-Missisquoi. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cYou go to a [grocery store] and you\u2019re doing a transaction, basically. At the farmer\u2019s markets it\u2019s always a conversation, even to the point where sometimes there is a line-up of people and everybody is chatting around,\u201d said Fournier. \u201cIt\u2019s completely different and that conversation is an opportunity to educate on the different products, the way it\u2019s made, the way it\u2019s harvested. (\u2026) If you don\u2019t have these conversations, you can\u2019t educate and that is why the farmer\u2019s markets are there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jean-Martin Fortier, an organic vegetable producer for 18 years, has been going to the Brome Lake farmer\u2019s market since its early beginnings. He described the market as \u201cspecial\u201d in the sense that most of the vendors have been there for years. The market originally took place on Maple Street in Knowlton before it was moved behind Theatre Lac-Brome a couple of years ago. Fortier highlighted that he and other producers that participate in the market have noticed a dip in attendance so far this year, but they hope the town will continue to invest time and energy in promoting the market so that it can play the important role that it has in the community for all of these years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe farmer\u2019s market is a great way to build community, to meet with the people and connect, to just have a chat. (\u2026) For all of these years that we have been going, it\u2019s really the community aspect that really strikes me as being the key point,\u201d said Fortier.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fortier referred to the sense of community between the food, the farms, and the consumers as the \u201choly trinity\u201d that allows a local food system to thrive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSmall farms, when they can meet with the people that eat their food (\u2026), all of that is a part of a local food system.\u00a0It really all starts with the farmer\u2019s markets so it needs to be happening, it needs to be thriving, we need to have support, but we also need to make it Knowlton,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

Fortier noted that people have taken advantage of the farmer\u2019s markets in the past and that he expects the same for the future, but these markets really pull people together by serving as a yearly reminder of the significant role they play in making small-scale farming possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if people understand this, but three times a day they can totally impact the food system positively by purchasing from a local farm or a local store in Knowlton. (\u2026) I think it\u2019s good for people to hear, again, how important their presence it is and how impactful their dollar is when they come and purchase something from the farms,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For more information about the local farmer\u2019s markets check in with your municipality or head on over to Tourism Brome-Missisquoi\u2019s website<\/span><\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n

Listen to the full interview below:<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brome Lake, Frelighsburg, Farnham, and Sutton are just some of the Brome-Missisquoi villages that have officially launched their farmer\u2019s markets for the summer and early fall season. The farmer’s markets in the region have been slowly opening up since the beginning of June and participants are now set to welcome the hustle and bustle they…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":162270,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[217,57,221],"tags":[758,7328,27410,7697,26529,3758,27409],"radio":[246],"origine":[274,259,260],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162182"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/113"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162182"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":162370,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162182\/revisions\/162370"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162182"},{"taxonomy":"radio","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/radio?post=162182"},{"taxonomy":"origine","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/origine?post=162182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}