The Altona Farmer’s Market opened for the season last Saturday.
Located under the big shelter at 24 Main St, the weekly offerings by local producers will once again aim to please.
“Our opening usually depends on when the local strawberries are ripe,” says coordinator Raven Nickel. She’s happy to announce, they just became available.
Initially, the market will mainly offer strawberries, baked goods, and preserves.
“We usually start with them, and more produce filters in as it becomes available over the rest of the season.”
The Farmer’s Market has been a part of summer in Altona for decades, providing income for local producers, and locally grown or created products for consumers.
“We always say, it’s a ‘make it, bake it, or grow it yourself’ market,” Nickel says, adding it’s also a social place that never loses its popularity. “The advertising is minimal, but people still show up. There’s definitely still a community vibe around it.”
Containing the event to just a few hours a week results in a crowd eager to get there before all the products have sold out.
“It’s also a cash market, so bring cash,” Nickel notes.
The Altona Farmer’s Market is happy to announce they’ll once again be running the Food Currency Program.
“This is offered through Direct Farm Manitoba. The Altona Farmer’s Market and the Community Exchange have partnered with them,” Nickel explains. “It’s an invitational program. The Community Exchange identifies participants who could benefit from receiving food currency that can be spent at the Farmer’s Market on whole foods. This would include things like fresh produce, honey and meat, which could be produced by local farmers.”
The food currency vouchers are reimbursed in cash at the end of the season. About 20 families participated in the program last summer, which resulted in over $5,000 of extra revenue through the market.
“We’re looking forward to running that program again,” says Nickel. “It brings a lot of diversity to our market, supports local farmers, and gets more people accessing locally grown food. I’m really excited to be a part of that again.”
The Altona Farmer’s Market will run every Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon through to September under the shelter on Main St.
“Except for the Saturday during the Manitoba Sunflower Festival, when we’ll be set up at the Altona Park and our hours will be a little bit different,” Nickel says.
