Spring is here and that means the Comox Valley Farmers' Market is on the move back to the exhibition grounds this week and every Saturday from 9 to noon until late October.
Vickey Brown, the market's executive director, is excited about expanding markets this year.
“Our customers are asking for more opportunities to shop at the market so we’re working hard to make that happen. With the City and DCBIA’s support, we’ll bring the Wednesday market downtown for peak-season mid-week markets from July through September. We’re also working with the Comox BIA to bring summer evening markets to downtown Comox.”
The Comox Valley is blessed with hundreds of small farms growing a huge variety of crops from apples and asparagus to chicken and venison. Those farmers who attend the market offer their freshest product directly to consumers.
Knowing where your food comes from in this way supports both the farmer and the families they feed by providing direct feedback on product offerings and consumer tastes to farmers. Direct sales also provide a better return to farmers, and help ensure that our valuable agricultural land remains in production.
This year, on top of the seasonal offerings of greens and veggie starts Fiesta Peppers is bringing summer to the market early. Having started planting in January, she is now offering cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and eggplant in April.
The Comox Valley Farmers' Market is known for a commitment to support local agriculture by remaining primarily an agriculture and food market, and restricting membership to the Comox and Strathcona regional districts. These policies are meant to encourage local farming and provide an incubator for small agricultural businesses to grow.
This year, along with new farms coming to the market, old favourites that have taken a break will be back, too: Freedom Farm will return with their prolific veggie starts, and Dahlia Divas will be back with dahlia tubers and flowers. They’ll be joining 80 or more vendors returning from last year.
— Comox Valley Farmers' Market