Local food businesses in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley are signing up to Meet Your Maker where local food producers and local food buyers meet, get business and grow. Scheduled for Monday February 27 at the Croatian Cultural Centre in Vancouver, this local event is modeled after Portland, Oregon’s very successful ‘Farmer-Chef Connection.’
This year, keynote speakers will include a local farmer and a local chef. Jerry Gelderman from Gelderman Farms provides sustainably raised, quality pork products sold at farmers’ markets, various Fraser Valley stores, and their own online store. Gelderman also sells to select chefs. Four Seasons Hotel Executive Chef Ned Bell is a keen supporter of fresh, local ingredients. Bell also has a keen sense of support for community and was instrumental in urging FarmFolk CityFolk to bring their annual fundraiser, Feast of Fields, to the Okanagan region where Bell co-owns Cabana Bar & Grille in Kelowna. Now in Vancouver, Bell is interested in learning more about Vancouver’s proposed food hub, New City Market.
“These people are passionate about local food and Meet Your Maker is where that passion really comes alive. It’s a long-term investment in our food future,” says FarmFolk’s Bonita Magee, “and if Vancouver wants to be the greenest city by 2020, we’re going to have to increase local food production.” Sponsored by Vancity and Canadian Linen & Uniform, the event is co-organized by FarmFolk CityFolk and Local Food First. Tara McDonald, Executive Director of the Vancouver Farmers Markets and Local Food First committee lead, adds “Meet Your Maker provides a great opportunity for small businesses to connect with suppliers, gain access to niche products, and scale up their businesses by going local.” She knows all about demand as she has seen Vancouver’s farmers’ markets grow in the city.
Suzanne Fielden, co-owner of Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company in Vancouver says “Meet Your Maker is a much needed event that allows restauranteurs to meet urban and rural local farmers face-to-face and chat (a very difficult thing for busy farmers & restauranteurs.) The result is more local food featured on local restaurant menus and long-term relationships with farmers to buy their beautiful and delicious produce. A must go event.”
Likewise, the event has been beneficial for farmers, too, including Nicola von Rosen and Dennis Clausen from Outlawmeats in Clinton, BC. “Thanks to Meet Your Maker, we are now exclusively selling our lamb at Whole Foods Markets in Vancouver. I loved the casual and fun atmosphere at the event. I love how supportive our city folk are of our farming folk. The moral support is a tremendous boost when the day to day burdens of trying to make a living farming are overwhelming. I love how I attended Meet Your Maker just out of curiosity but was gifted with an unexpected wonderful new relationship with the Forager for Whole Foods Market, Denise Breyley.”
This year, organizers have a new speed-dating format that will enable participants to connect with those they really need to connect with. Last year, the event generated more than $268,000 in business, and it’s growing. This year, organizers are urging more local chefs to come to Meet Your Maker and make new connections. Businesses interested in attending can find more information and a registration link at www.getlocalbc.org.
