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RCFM fans share the love online

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Just wanted to share a thanks to all you Royal City Farmers Market boosters who share the love online through your blogs, Tweets, photos and videos.

Here’s an excerpt from Emerging Mummy’s lovely post about family memories recalled while soaking up the Market atmosphere with her children:

… I couldn’t resist chai-flavoured honey (seriously…honey flavoured with cloves and cinnamon and nutmeg! Seriously!) and even a beeswax lip balm as a treat.

Then we pulled up a patch of shade to people watch. Anne and I made a supper of crackers, water and raspberries (you think I’m kidding) while Joseph snacked on banana, raspberries and breastmilk.

I told my daughter and son about my Granny Nell and how she always had raspberries in her garden. I said that Auntie and I used to eat ourselves sick on raspberries when we were girls. How we dug the food out of her garden with my cousins, rinsing off the carrots with the garden hose and snapping peas with just one hand.

Even now, I know that July is truly here when we sit in the grass and eat raspberries with our fingers, staining each fingertip red, talking with seeds stuck in our teeth.

Meanwhile, Texpressions has put together a photo montage of images from the Royal City Farmers Market on YouTube:

Jessica at Yum-O-Rama gave a thumb’s up to La Boheme’s crepes after tasting them at the first market:

I’d heard great things about La Boheme – the line up for them at the Trout Lake Farmers Market was huge, and the lineups at a Portobello West show at the Rocky Mountaineer station was equally long. So when I saw the meager three-person lineup at the Royal City Farmers Market, I knew it was the day to try a crepe.

La Boheme makes their crepes with a light batter made from organic buckwheat flour and a small amount of white flour. I thought that it would make for a heavy crepe, but it actually very light, nutty and added a crisp texture.

I ordered the Ali Baba – red pepper spread, baba ghanoush (seasoned eggplant spread), and feta cheese warmed on a toasty-crisp buckwheat crepe, and topped with lettuce before being wrapped and served. It was a vegetarian option and it was delicious!

Twitter has also been alive with Tweets every week from Royal City Farmers Market regulars! You can find us on Twitter at @nwfarmers.

Finally, like many a Market newbie has remarked following their first visit, Miho Shimamura notes on her blog, Unnecessary Necessaries, “must bring larger bag next time:”

The weather cooperated and it was sunny and warm. I arrived at opening time (3pm) and it already was buzzing with action. The market was intimate, but it was full of vibrant energy. It had a great community feel with lots of locals perusing the stalls.

I can’t wait to go back next Thursday to pick up more goodies.

Hope to see you all there!

If we missed your Market post, let us know! Just leave a comment with the link.

Nutrition Coupon program improves access to fresh Market food

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Fifty families in New Westminster will have access to fresh Farmers Market fruit, vegetables, dairy, cheese, seafood and meat that they otherwise could not afford thanks to an innovative new program that subsidizes healthy food choices and encourages families to cook at home.

The Nutrition Coupon Program is a provincially sponsored program aimed at low-income families.  The program aims to address the problem of childhood obesity by empowering families to offer healthy dietary choices for their children.  Participating families receive Farmers Market vouchers and a series of applied cooking lessons.

The Nutrition Coupon Program is a partnership between the Ministry of Agriculture and the B.C. Farmers Market Association.  The program began in 2007 with one farmers market in each of the five different health regions participating. In 2008 the program doubled in size to 10 markets and this year in 2009 has again expanded to 15 markets across B.C.

Each family receives $15 worth of coupons to take to the Market to exchange for fruits, vegetables, dairy, cheese, seafood, and meat. There is also 8 hrs of hands on cooking lessons for each participant provided by local social service agencies.

The program has been a tremendous success and currently has a 95% return on the coupons.

This is the Royal City Farmers Market’s first year participating in the program. We are partnering with the New West Pregnancy Outreach Program run by public health nurse Lori Radburne to implement the program.

The Royal City Farmers Market will continue to search for ways to make the Market inclusive to all income levels in the city and we are confident the Nutrition Coupon Program will be a success here in New Westminster.

Art in the Park

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Dusk in Green and Orange, by Ambera Wellmann
Dusk in Green and Orange, by Ambera Wellmann

Last year, we had a few visual artists rent stall space from us at a loss because they either sold nothing, or hardly anything at all. While they got decent exposure, and reported having a good time, they didn’t make enough to justify renting the space. People don’t really buy art on impulse for the most part. They look at it, they mull it over, they think on it, they let it speak to them, and if they decide to go for it, they do, but usually not the first time they see it. Artists are generally people who are simply expressing creativity, and don’t have an expectation of profit when they set out to make art. So this year, rather than seek out artists to rent stall spaces, we’re creating a new community initiave called Art in the Park.

Art in the Park is pretty simple: we allow visual artists to set up for free in the park next to our market and bring works in progress, completed works for sale, or gallery pieces not for sale. They can bring a tent and display tables, or it can be as simple as their easel. We’ll provide signage and advertising for the area. There are a few simple guidelines – among others like how the space is first come first served, how you need to pre-register to come, and how we’d like you to purchase a membership in our organization ($10 annually) in order to have your person covered by insurance – but it’s really simple, and it’s simply a way for artists to connect with potential buyers.

If you know an artist that could use this opportunity, or if you’re an artist yourself, please contact the Market Manager at marketmanager@newwestfarmers.ca for more information or to register. Our first Art in the Park market will be July 23rd, which also happens to be our next special event market to celebrate the City of New Westminster’s 150th birthday.

RCFM In The Record: Gardens highlighted

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Published in the Royal City Record on July 1, 2009

Gardens Highlighted: Unique balcony garden program will be on display at farmers’ market

By Theresa McManus

The Biggest Little Garden in Town will be making an appearance at the Royal City Farmers Market tomorrow, July 2.

Fraserside Community Services started the program three years ago to give local residents living in apartments or townhouses access to home-grown, fresh vegetables.

Members of the program receive a three-tiered cedar garden box container, soil, a variety of vegetable plants/seeds, tools and a handbook for free, but people not participating in the program or living outside New Westminster can buy the three-tiered containers that include a trellis.

“They are not actually for sale at the market,” said program coordinator Laurie Clarke. “It is to view them and take orders.”

While the free containers have been distributed to participants for the 2009 growing season, Fraserside is still selling the three-tiered cedar garden boxes to raise funds for the Biggest Little Garden in Town program.

People from as far away as Hawaii, Chicago and Los Angeles have inquired about how they would go about implementing similar programs and inquired about buying the three-tiered containers.

Fraserside is selling the containers for $168 ($150 plus tax). People will also receive a $20 tax receipt from Fraserside.

For more information or to buy a three-tiered container, call Fraserside at 604-522-3722 or Laurie Clarke at 604-512-6896.

The Royal City Farmers Market runs on Thursdays from 3 to 7 p.m. in city hall’s Fourth Street parking lot, beside Friendship Gardens and Tipperary Park.

RCFM In the Newsleader: Farmers market makes a great start

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Published in the New Westminster Newsleader June 26, 2009

Farmers Market makes a great start

By Chris Bryan

Jinhee Park and Stephanie Lowe entertain shoppers at the New Westminster Farmers Market, which opened for the season in Tipperary Park on Thursday. Photo: Mario Bartel, Newsleader
Jinhee Park and Stephanie Lowe entertain shoppers at the New Westminster Farmers Market, which opened for the season in Tipperary Park on Thursday. Photo: Mario Bartel, Newsleader

The Royal City Farmers Market opened with much fanfare Thursday, and attracted as many as 1,100 people over the four hours (3 to 7 p.m.), said organizer Andrew Murray. There were 36 vendors, and Murray said that will be about the number for the whole season—up from about 25 last year.

“The demand is much greater this year,” he said. “There’s a real vendor grapevine, and we got a lot of positive reviews.”

In addition to cheeses and meat, including fish, there were breads, coffee and a lot of farm produce—much more than last year.

“We’ve pretty well doubled the farms we’re offering over last year,” Murray said. “Lots more produce. That was our goal. A market’s success is measured by how much fruit and veggies it offers. We’ve made some positive progress on that one, and it’s still early in the summer. Our farmers will have a lot more selection as the summer progresses.”

Thursday’s market was the first of the season and featured Mayor Wayne Wright opening the market and a salute from Seymour Artillery.

The market runs every Thursday, 3-7 p.m. at Tipperary Park next to city hall. The next big splash at the market will be July 23, with extra events as part of the city’s 150th celebrations, Murray said.

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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.