St. Albert’s Farmers’ Market will be bigger than ever this year, with a slightly different route and 15 new stalls for potential vendors.
“We’ve expanded the market this year and we’ve changed the route so that there will be less congestion at the St. Thomas Street entrance and there also will be stalls added that go past St. Thomas Street, almost as far as Grandin Medical Clinic,” said St. Albert Chamber of Commerce president Lynda Moffat.
The St. Albert market maintains its status as the largest outdoor market in Western Canada, Moffat said.
The growth of the local market mirrors what’s happening in other parts of the province, according to an Alberta Agriculture study completed last summer.
“Alberta farmers’ markets are more popular than ever. The 2012 Alternative Agriculture Markets Report found that almost three-quarters of Alberta households (nearly 1.1 million) visited a farmers’ market last year and spent an average of $55 per visit,” said Eileen Kotowich, Farmers’ Market specialist for Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development.
The study showed that the market value of provincial farmers’ markets tripled since 2004.
“The value reached $724 million last year – a 90-per-cent increase since 2008. Of that total, $598 million (83 per cent) of purchases were on food grown or made in Alberta,” Kotowich said.
Moffat has no knowledge of how much money is spent locally, but Chamber studies show that an average of 15 to 20,000 people visit the farmers’ market each Saturday during the summer.
New this year is a booth where customers may check their parcels.
“You can park your parcel at a tent set up in front of Cranky’s Bike Shop. That way you can leave your vegetables or fruit there. You’ll be given a tag like a coat check so you can claim them, but you can then go shop at some of the downtown merchants’ stores,” Moffat said.
Moffat explained that there are many new vendors this year, including a Mexican-food supplier as well as more vendors selling gluten-free products and organically grown produce. But the market changes every week, as vendors come and go with the summer growing season.
“The St. Albert Farmers’ Market is not just a shopping event. It’s a social event where people come down on Saturday and see their neighbours. There are lots of buskers – more this year than ever – and the market remains fresh each week and different because new vendors come every week,” she said.
The first St. Albert Farmers’ Market takes place Saturday, June 15, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It will continue to run every Saturday, rain or shine, until Oct. 5 on St. Anne and St. Thomas streets.
