Forty minutes before opening, the line has already started to form. Most stalls at Vancouver Farmers Markets don’t attract such substantial queues especially before 10am. As I wait, the line grows behind me. Those at the front have even brought chairs. There’s a sense of anticipation because we all know that it’s not a matter of if Steve’s Smoked Meats sells out, but
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#129 of 148 articles from the Special Report:
Food Insider
Grow Local Tricities opened up a new market in Port Moody during the pandemic. Photo by Erik Scheel / Pexels
While many things were shut down due to the pandemic, Tabitha McLoughlin and her team responded to increased demand in their community for fresh food by opening another farmers market.
McLoughlin is the executive director of Grow Local Tricities, which manages the Port Moody and Coquitlam farmers markets. In June, the organization started its Port Moody summer market as an emergency response for farmers in their area.
“We did it in response to knowing that we had farmer vendors who were losing contracts to restaurants and losing contracts to food suppliers, because those guys were shutting down or being closed down, and they had crops in the ground,” she said. “And it was well enough attended that we’ll continue to do it again this year.”
You might find Anita Georgy on a big pile of soil in her front yard, standing proud after digging up her lawn to make space for a garden.
You’ll also find her in the FarmFolk CityFolk (FFCF) office, working as executive director for the province’s largest food and agriculture non-profit organization. The group has a number of programs aimed at strengthening food systems, helping farmers and mitigating climate change caused by agriculture.
Raised on a farm in southern Ontario, Georgy has been in Vancouver since the early 2000s.
Canada’s National Observer caught up with her for a chat about FFCF and her thoughts on food systems.