Farmers market ‘brings hope’

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This article was published 29/05/2021 (1639 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mason jars of pickled goods — dilled carrots, string beans, brussels sprouts, beets and, of course, classic pickles — greet visitors to the St. Norbert Farmers’ Market. At the entrance Saturday, beside the briny array, 21-year-old Tim Veldhuis clicks one of two metal tally counters cradled in his palms. On a small table next to him sits a sign telling visitors they must wear masks indoors and outdoors and two spray bottles of hand sanitizer with a fine herbal scent.

The market, or more accurately, Le Marché, is running at 10 per cent capacity due to provincial restrictions. Tim keeps careful count of who goes in on one counter and who goes out on another. At just after noon, a total of 615 people have gone in. At full capacity, said Tim, that number would be closer to 1,000. About 20 people wait for others to leave, so they can fit under the 130-person capacity — 100 outdoors and a max of 30 inside the barn-like structure centring the market.

Aside from lowered capacity, the market no longer allows vendors to offer samples, once a staple of the farmers market experience.

Many vendors have established themselves in the market for years. Tim, for example, speaks pridefully when he says, “I’m 21 years old, and this is my 21st year in the market.”

His father, Phil Veldhuis of Phil’s Honey, has been backing his truck into the market for 30 years. He plants himself each week in a lawn chair in front of a display case propped up on the lowered gate of his truck. Behind him the case is stocked with glass jars of liquid honey, beeswax candles shaped like bears hugging honeycombs and plastic honey pots with a cartoon bee in blue sky familiar to many Manitoban pantries.

Phil, like many other vendors, relies on the market for a big chunk of his income.

“This is what pays for everything,” he says. “Farmers can produce, they can grow, but if they can’t sell it for a decent price, you can’t make a go of it.”

The beekeeper from Starbuck says he also sells honey in bulk to Bee Maid Honey, but retailers’ percentages can work backward to cut into profits. Many retailers take anywhere from 50-70 per cent of the selling price, he says.

And on top of moving product, says Phil, the vendors work together in their co-op, and it’s great “just seeing familiar faces — which we’re all starved for these days.”

Suddenly, Phil shouts out to a woman passing by. He hasn’t seen her for a while. Is she visiting from Ottawa, or has she moved back? It sounds as though she’s a family friend.

“She’s just one of my longtime customers,” says Phil.

Another vendor braving the wind and drizzle is Bret Gordon. He runs a knife sharpening stand, set up on the back of a monstrous moped about 2.5 metres long fitted with a wooden plank to support a grinder. After suffering a repetitive motion injury at an architecture firm, Gordon found himself unable to type on a keyboard. He ended up on employment assistance until he discovered a talent for knife sharpening. He started bringing his stand to markets, including the Wolseley Farmers’ Market, of which he’s the director. But the St. Norbert market is the only year-round market in the city, says Gordon, so it’s become crucial to him to support himself.

“This is my biggest income driver,” he says. “It’s massively important.”

Pandemic restrictions have slowed his business, he says, but he manages to get by on repeat customers. Without the market, he says he’d probably have to get a job in a grocery store or somewhere similar. Although, he’s not sure his injury would allow for even that. He’s quick to note working in the market during the pandemic is safer than working in a grocery store.

“It’s incredibly safe,” he says. “There’s 20 feet between me and the vendor in front of me.”

The indoor section is lined with tables and booths, each one with a small bottle of hand sanitizer sitting out front. Holly Derkson-Sobering stands in front of a display of sourdoughs, miches and other breads. She got her start at the market and has since opened Old Church Bakery in Steinbach. But the market still serves a critical role.

“Our storefront wouldn’t be open if we didn’t have the market,” says Derksen-Sobering.

Vendors at the market almost invariably stress the importance of supporting local producers, and Derksen-Sobering is no different.

“It keeps the economy going, right? I think it also brings hope, purpose to our daily lives,” she said. “We don’t know when this is going to end, so I think that’s the main thing. If you can support someone daily, however you can.”

Marilyn Firth, executive director of St. Norbert Farmers’ Market, says during the pandemic it’s especially important to support her 100 per cent Manitoban vendors.

Since fewer people can get out to shop, vendors are taking a hit, she says. “The longer this goes on, the longer time passes, the more important it is to keep the dollars here.”

And the market is about as comprehensively local as is possible. The stalls’ placards reveal a geography of southern Manitoba — Steinbach, Altona, Haywood, Starbuck, Blumenort, Landmark, Woodmore. And Winnipeg. And St. Norbert.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca