By Blair McBride
Beef from Alberta, cheese from Quebec, apples from Washington state, No Name apricots and canned beans from all over the world.
NWT residents are dependent on food trucked into the territory, but the Yellowknife Farmers Market is doing its part to try and reduce that dependence.
The market was first opened in 2013 by local farmer France Benoit.
Robyn Coffee, left, Hannah Eden, Julie Plourde, Lise Picard, Tom Money, Julie Downes and Emma Ambury pose during the 2019 season at the Farmers Market in Somba K’e Civic Plaza. Photo courtesy of Hannah Eden
“I wanted to grow more food. I needed to find an outlet to sell it,” she said.
“I was interested in community food security issues. I think (it’s important) for us to get reacquainted with certain skills and to process food for larger numbers of people.”
By 2014 the market had grown and the founders formed a board of directors, said market manager Julie Downes.
“We realized there was a need to promote the local food scene. Most of the food purchased in the territory is coming from out of the territory. The Tuesday market is a by-product of that mission,” she said.
The market sets up in Somba K’e Civic Plaza and runs from June until September.
“Our mandate is to create an economic exchange and marketplace for Yellowknifers to purchase locally baked food, processed and harvested goods and to support small business owners as well. It’s food-based economic development,” said Downes.
“We’re here to support vendors who are ready to jump from growing in their own gardens to becoming more commercial.”
Harvesters are offered discounted rates for setting up stalls and if they can commit to bringing their produce every week they’ll pay $75 for the season.
If harvesters have a surplus of grown produce but don’t set up a stall on Tuesdays, the market’s Harvesters Table will sell the produce on their behalf and the growers can pocket 75 per cent of the profits.
All produce sold at the market is grown pesticide-free and vendors must package their goods in 100-per-cent compostable materials. The packaging is disposed in the 10 compost bins that staff bring to the market.
Lise Picard, who is the treasurer of the market started the composting program in 2015.
“Paper bags rather than plastic bags are used. And there’s a lot of plastic-looking containers but they’re made of PLA7, which is made of plants, and those are compostable,” she said.
“We encourage people to bring their own containers with a lid so they can take their food home if they don’t eat it all. It’s a waste reduction program. When things are going well we can divert as much as 90 per cent of all the waste towards the compost pile in Yellowknife.”
The hot meals have proven popular at the market as well and Downes said a lot of people come to the market to have dinner picnics in the square.
The market also functions as a “business incubator” for vendors who want to expand their operations. With Bread bakery and the jewellery-makers from Mermaid & Moon Boutique started out at the market, as did Benoit, whose Le Refuge Farm sells locally-grown vegetables, herbs and berries to restaurants.
A perennial but unavoidable challenge for the market is the weather, which keeps many customers at home on the cold and wet days.
“Our members are hardy and dress for the weather. But they say that even on rainy days they have die hard people who show up and pick up their wares every week. We’ll have double the number of patrons on sunny days than rainy ones,” said Downes.
The market’s focus on enhancing Yellowknifers’ connections with food extends to the more vulnerable members of the community.
Since last year the market has been running a pay it forward program where recipients receive $15 voucher cards that they can use to buy anything at the market.
Last year 304 cards were redeemed, Picard said.
“(Beneficiaries) can’t be identified because the cards are anonymous. (But we found that) 95 per cent of them last year were used for food. We received a grant this year from United Way so we can continue the program this year.”
