Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Silvia Senna

'It's Better Than a Grocery Store'

Kamloops Farmers Market prepares to get busier with beginning of summer

Jun 24, 2024 | 5:30 PM

KAMLOOPS — Vegetables, fruits, baked goods and more. The Kamloops Farmers Market has it all. However, it is not only the local products that attract customers.

“It’s very nice to come to spend time here and to see what’s going on and, you know, check the flavours and the colors and everything else,” said Emerson de Oliveira, an avid customer.

“It’s nice to just see people, see movement and see how everybody supports each other and just see different things around town,” added Carolina Nappi, another regular customer.

The Kamloops Farmers Market has been running since April and, with the beginning of summer, organizers are expecting it to get busier. The cool rainy spring might have given a slow start for local farmers, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.

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“It was really good for cold weather things, like your beets and your lettuces and spinach and things like that,” explained Dieter Dudy of Thistle Farm in Westsyde. “We’ve had an incredible bounty and now with the heat coming on, the rest of the things will start to come. The tomatoes are going to be maybe a week or so late, but that’s all right.”

“This year has been phenomenal. The weather has been helping a lot, because the strawberry love the cold weather, and the rain has been fantastic. We are so thankful,” said Emma Molina, owner of Berry Sweet Gardens.

However, some produce will not be making to the market this year.

“We’re not likely to see much in the way of stone fruit, unfortunately. Peaches, apricots, nectarines, that sort of thing. There was a severe weather event in January that killed something like 90-to-100 per cent of B.C.’s stone fruit and grape crops,” explained Farmers Market manager Greg Unger.

Regardless of what this year will bring for the vendors, they all understand the importance of supporting local businesses.

“When you come here, you are part of the community. You see who your producers are for the food that is grown all around you and produced around you. Supporting local is really what it’s all about for food security and food sustainability for the area,” said Leslie Albert, owner of Not Your Mama’s Bakery. “It’s the trust between the customer and the vendor.”

“People who are helping to grow local businesses, they’re giving back to the community. They’re growing their city. It’s just build more warmth and more relationships amongst people and it’s just more empowering when you know your people support your businesses,” added vendor Prachi Gupta with SAAVI.

Customers guarantee they will keep coming back and encourage everyone to check it out.

“It is fresh. It’s delicious. It’s better than the grocery store because it’s fresh and, you know, it’s coming from your community versus… you don’t know where it’s coming from.”

“You’ll be surprised. It’s not like a regular grocery store. It’s totally different. Unique. You’ll have to come.”

The Farmers Market runs every Saturday morning in the 200-block of St. Paul Street and every Wednesday on Victoria Street in front of the TNRD Library.