The Port Moody Farmers market has received city approval to open this Sunday, April 19, following doubts whether it would go forward amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Its opening, approved Friday at 2 p.m., will come with several restrictions and will only include farm and food products, according to Tabitha McLoughlin, executive director of Grow Local Tricities.
The city’s winter market halted operations back in mid-March as the COVID-19 pandemic swept into the region. But within days the B.C. Centre for Disease Control and the B.C. agriculture minister Lana Popham said that under "additional conditions," farmers' markets can continue to operate.
What markets have been waiting for, said McLoughlin, is approval from the cities they work in. “A large part of what we’re doing is that people feel safe and comfortable coming out to shop,” she said.
In normal times, Port Moody’s winter market hosts roughly 40 vendors. Cut out the artisans and that number drops to 25. On Sunday when it re-opens from its month-long hiatus, that number will be cut down to between 10 and 15 selling things like produce, ham, bacon, chicken and beef, as well as baked and prepared foods. i
“There might be a distillery,” said McLoughlin.
Organizers have added strict measures to ensure shoppers’ safety: there will be clearly defined entry and exit points to ease the flow of people, each booth will be spread out two metres apart, and markers on the ground will keep people at a socially distance two metres. Shoppers will be able to buy goods with credit and debit cards, and for vendors with online stores, online orders will be accepted.
While farmers don’t fall under the BCCDC’s mass gathering restrictions that limit crowds to under 50 people, McLoughlin said they will be restricting the number of people who enter the market at any given time, as well as limiting booth visits to two at a time to pick up produce.
“It’s a better way to shop. We have fresh air. But it’s important that people have that two metres,” said McLoughlin.
For many of the vendors, building up a new customer base will be critical. As restaurants have closed, many have lost big buyers. In a recent report by the non-profit FarmFolk CityFolk, 47% of farmers across B.C. said they had seen immediate losses and another 73% said they feared more losses later this year.
Still, most planted before the pandemic broke out; with their crops still maturing, nothing has been lost yet, says McLoughlin.
“They have the product. You can’t slow that down,” she said, adding many are exploring new outlets, like vegetable subscription boxes, to sell their foodstuffs.
Indeed, 10% of farmers across the province said they have seen an increase in demand and sales since the onset of the outbreak. “We are sold out of beef and our seeds are selling like toilet paper,” one farmer is quoted in the report.
With people likely cooking at home like never before, the demand continues. There’s definitely demand. People are looking for it. It’s just a matter of access to it.
“Some of them won’t make it through this,” said McLoughlin.
“It won’t be business as usual. It will be a different looking market. But the point is supporting local vendors.”
Port Moody’s summer farmers market is still slated to open the first week of May.
Shoppers can visit the Port Moody farmers market starting this Sunday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the tennis courts adjacent to the Port Moody recreation complex (300 Ioco Rd.).
