New West Farmers Market

You are here: Home / Archives for Lily Nichol

2024 Pie for Pride!

By

Join New West Farmers Market on August 15th at 5:30pm for Pie for Pride!

This beloved community pie baking competition is back with a panel of local (and international) judges who will determine New West’s Best Pie of 2024.

This year’s lineup includes:

  • Philip Fitzpatrick – International Icon and Honorary New Bestie, once lost (The Price is Right), now found (in New West) #PhilipInNewWest and lover of a Louisville Derby Pie,
  • Mayor Patrick Johnstone – Lover of New West and community events that require him to eat pie,
  •  Mike Balser – Acclaimed Winner of the Best Pie in 2023’s Pie for Pride with his infamous Whoo-Berry Pie,
  • Jon Jennings – NWFM Board Member and lover of strawberry-rhubarb, qualifications include being a former vendor of another round baked-good (bagels) and gently imploring his wife to contribute to this competition every year,
  • Madeleine Gwynne – New West Pride VP who’s got her eye on the pies!

Think your favourite pie recipe has what it takes to compete for the title? Enter your pie and review the rules here.

Prefer to be a spectator for this sport? Swing by NWFM on August 15th to watch pies being judged (starting at 5:30pm) and then grab a slice (or a few slices!) by donation to New West Pride. This competition is fierce!

Come by and eat pie! Only on August 15th at the New West Farmers Market in Tipperary Park next to New West City Hall.

 

2023 Season Vendor Update

By

As we start to get ready for our 2023 season, we wanted to draw your attention to a few vendor updates.

Anne’s Kitchen/Anne’s Gallery

We are excited to announce that much loved Anne will be joining us again this season for a few dates. Anne and her husband, Michael, have been a mainstay at our market and have kept New Westminster supplied with jams, pickles, and gorgeous sweaters since we opened nearly 15 years ago. At the end of our regular season last year, Anne let us know that she was ready to retire her business. However, this was a false alarm! Anne has let us know that her winter break gave her the rest she needed and she has had so many people reach out to her to express their sadness that she has decided she is not quite ready to retire after all. Though we are just starting to get organized for our 2023 season, she has let us know that she intends to come back for a few dates. Keep an eye out!

 

Plantbase

We are very sad to share that beloved long-time vendor, Plantbase, are slowly closing their business. They’ve contributed so much to our market and community and been with us for many years. We are excited to see what the future holds for this talented team but they will be so missed at NWFM. Please make sure you reach out to them to let them know how much you love and appreciate David and his team, and buy their products to help them wind down!

Please watch this video to learn more about the closing of Plantbase and look here to see how you can support this wonderful business as they wrap up.

We reached out to David Isbister, co-owner of Plantbase, and he had a few words for New West:

It has been such joy to come to know you all over the years. New West Farmer’s Markets were my first farmers markets and remain so special to me because of the beautiful setting, the diverse communities we get to serve in some small but impactful ways, and really just all the special folks (and their non human companions) who pass through. I have truly enjoyed every minute so much. I am sure you will see me pop up some way or another in the future 😉 – so keep checking up on what I get up to and say hello any darn time. Let’s make sure it’s not goodbye!

Please support local producers, enjoy existence wherever it’s possible, and offer compassion to humans and animals. 🙂 I’ll see you all soon..or is it …tune?

David

What’soup

What’soup, owned by past chef of El Santo, Bella Almeida, is sadly closing their doors. You can see Bella’s post here about the closing of her business. Her last market will be Port Moody on January 15th (this Sunday) so make sure you go and stock up on her delicious creations. We are extremely sad to be losing Bella and her soups, but look forward to what the future has in store for this talented chef.

We reached out to Bella and she had a few words for New West:

Dear friends,

There is no easy way to say this but I am closing What’Soup. I have no words to say how much I appreciate every single one of you for all your support throughout those 2 intense, challenging and wonderful years. Being at the markets was not only a great experience as a business owner but it also gave me the chance to connect with amazing people and learn a lot from them. Closing was a very hard decision to make but the right one for this moment. I hope that you all could feel the passion and caring in every soup you tried because that’s how they were always made. Thank you, NWFM, for being such an amazing community! Hope you all have an amazing 2023 and keep supporting local! 🙂
With love, Bella Almeida.

Applications for the 2023 market will be released soon. We are excited for another season of fresh local food, but Plantbase and What’soup will be so missed. We are incredibly saddened by this loss. We hope you take the time to connect with the vendors you love and stock up on your soups and vegan foods. Make sure to continue to support local and come visit Anne! 

 

We will see you in Tipperary Park beginning March 30th, 3-7pm.

Vendor Spotlight: Golden Meadows Honey Farm

By

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT

Keep an eye out for our Vendor Spotlight feature where we bring you short interviews with our amazing vendors!

This Week: Golden Meadows Honey Farm

Find them online here and on Instagram here.

Photo of Christian and Xander with some of the 200 hives of bees in their family apiary in Pitt Meadows.

How did your business start?

Years ago, local family owned and operated business Golden Meadows Honey Farm owners, Lidia and Christian were bedazzled by the idea of a combined store that supplies the community with both honey & artisanal gifts as well as beekeeping supplies.

Christian’s ‘getter done’ attitude turned his interest in beekeeping into a complete bee operation, running the business’s mid-sized apiary focusing on pollination and speciality honey production.

Our storefront as well the opportunities to attend farmers markets allows Lidia to pursue her dreams of developing connections within the community to learn and to share our knowledge with others. Reflecting back, Lidia is awed by how much she has learned about bees’ significance to the environment, society and economy, and ways to learn from and support the bees. “I believe we have everything we need here within our community.”

The two combined their passions into a beautiful business!

 
What is your favourite product and why?
 
Every summer, when fireweeds are in bloom, we bring our bees to the backcountry of BC to collect precious nectar from the little pink-purple flowers that adorn the fireweed plant. This is where our most prized Fireweed Honey comes from! They’re considered to be the “Champagne of Honey” as fireweed honey is renowned for its fine, remarkable flavour and medicinal properties. Not only do they take longer to crystallize, they are also wild, which makes them equal to, if not better then organic!

———-

Thanks, Golden Meadows! We appreciate you joining us this season! 

Find them this week at the market, September 22nd, from 3-7pm in Tipperary Park.

Vendor Spotlight: What’soup

By

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT

Keep an eye out for our Vendor Spotlight feature where we bring you short interviews with our amazing vendors!

This Week: What’soup

Find them online here and on Instagram here.

Photo of Bella, owner of What’soup!

How did your business start?

What’Soup started when I was on my maternity leave and had the need to have nutritious and quick meals on hand. Being a chef, I started putting recipes together and thought that frozen “ready to eat” soups would make a great quick, easy and nourishing meals and that’s how the business was born.

 
What is one piece of advice you would give to someone considering starting their own small business?
 
Be Brave and don’t give up! The struggles are real and they can hit you hard sometimes but so is the local community. So, talk to people, share your fears and hear from the ones that are doing it longer than you and learn from them. Investing in your dream is not always easy but once you do and believe in it there is nothing better or more satisfying.

———-

Thanks, Bella! We appreciate you joining us this season! 

Find What’soup this week at the market, September 22nd, from 3-7pm in Tipperary Park.

Vendor Spotlight: Abundant Acre Family Farm

By

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT

Keep an eye out for our Vendor Spotlight feature where we bring you short interviews with our amazing vendors!

This Week: Abundant Acre Family Farm

Find them online here and on Instagram here.

Photo of Cara, farmer and co-owner, in the field

What’s your favourite product and why?

Tomatoes! Our family doesn’t eat tomatoes out-of-season, so when these sweet beauties are around we really savour them. Greek salad, tomato sandwich lunches and just mowing down a couple yellow romas for a snack. A huge priority for us is the flavour of our vegetables, and we feel like we have the varieties of tomatoes that we grow pretty dialed-in, as we are in our 14th season of growing. I, Cara, first found out what a tomato could taste like when I was getting to know Andy (my husband). His Dad grew some tasty big beef tomatoes in his big backyard garden. Over the years we’ve paid close attention to which varieties not only grow well in our climate (soil-grown in our unheated greenhouse) but to those who have a depth of flavour.

 
What is your favourite part about selling at farmers markets?
 
The people! Not only do we need food to survive, we need relationships. I love hearing about what you’re making with our vegetables, how satisfied you are to do your shopping at the market or a little bit about what you’re up to. I am honoured to share a small part of your day and hope our vegetables help bring physical nourishment to you, in the joys and struggles of life.

———-

Thanks, Cara! We appreciate you joining us this season! 

Find Abundant Acre Family Farm this week at the market, September 15th, from 3-7pm in Tipperary Park.

Supported By

Newsletter

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

We’re Social

@newwestfarmers #newwestfarmers

Land Acknowledgement

Our market is grateful to operate on the unceded land of the Qayqayt, Kwikwetlem, and other Halkomelem speaking Peoples. We acknowledge that colonialism has made invisible their histories and connections to the land. We acknowledge the incredible gift this land is to our market and BC Agriculture. We commit to the ongoing work of decolonization and allyship.