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Farmers Markets: 4 things you won’t find in the grocery store

Farmers markets are a throwback to time when everything we consumed was produced locally and the person you bought your produce from was the same person who had grown it, picked it, and cleaned it.
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Farmers markets are a throwback to time when everything we consumed was produced locally and the person you bought your produce from was the same person who had grown it, picked it, and cleaned it. They’re also a great way to reconnect with nature and the community you live in.

Next time you’re heading for the middle aisles in the local grocery store, consider the following 4 things that every farmers market offers and your local grocery store doesn’t:

The shortest path to you:The vendors at your local Vancouver farmers market pick, wash, and choose the produce themselves. Grown and inspected locally, you can rest assured that you have the best produce you can buy. And because it’s grown locally, the produce spends less time in refrigerated transport and passes through fewer hands.

A sense of community: Steveston Farmers & Artisans Market’s new location at the Steveston Community Centre is a great example of how farmers markets are deeply integrated into the communities they serve. Whether you’re dropping the children off at the local martial arts centre or meeting your mother for a stroll through the nearby garden, the market is the perfect backdrop for everyday life and great way to reconnect with the community you live in.

Self-sustaining economy: money spent in a non-profit market such as Steveston Farmers & Artisans Market directly supports the local people who grow and make the products you buy.

“Steveston Farmers & Artisans Market vendors are closely juried,” says Market Committee Chair, Johanna Stewart. “Not only is there variety for the consumer, but there is also a selection of local business from Steveston Village who represent the thriving local business community.”

Health and wellbeing:A fresh breeze from the Salish Sea on a sunny day will do a lot more for your general wellbeing than the manufactured scents in your local box store. Natural light vs. halogen-lit aisles, local stores vs. national advertisements… are there buskers, bands or even the occasional DJ inside your local grocery store?

Steveston Farmers & Artisans Market opens this year on Mother’s Day, May 8th and runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Steveston Community Centre parking lot on Moncton Street. For more information, connect with the SFM on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and Pinterest or visit their website at www.sfam.ca