Farmers-Owned Store Opens in Vancouver
The Local Fresh Food Market has risen out of the ashes of adversity and transformed into a farmer owned store that is fast becoming a vital part of the neighbourhood.
Formerly known as the Grow-In Grocer, the store almost collapsed when former owner, Deb Reynolds, disappeared with the trust and money of farmers and customers alike.
Luckily, the passion of the farmers prevailed and the many of the former customers have returned to revitalize the store. Designed to avail busy city folk of Fraser Valley’s best produce, farmers eliminate the middle man and deliver the season’s freshest and finest when the harvest is at the peak of perfection. All members are committed to safe and sustainable farming and welcome the opportunity of forging a direct relationship with the consumer.
“Guaranteed access to fresh produce, often picked within hours of selling, lets our customers experience unsurpassed flavours and textures,” shares Bernice Noel, store manager. “The Fraser Valley generates some of the finest food ingredients in the world. We are a community of farmers who are collaborating to bring quality ingredients to our market within hours of harvesting.”
The owners include the Gelderman family, who began farming in 1978 on their property in Abbotsford, raising pigs and growing blueberries. Their environmental awareness is reflected in superior products and the practice of full circle farming.
Another owner is the Taves family, who run The Apple Barn. In 1940 Great Grandfather John decided to farm the fertile soils in the south part of Abbotsford. Grandson Loren and his wife Corinne have continued the orchards full of crisp sweet apples and have added berries and greenhouse vegetables, using integrated pest management for high yields without chemical pesticides.
”Just flavourful healthy beef” is the slogan for Redl’s Home Grown Beef. The two brothers raise cattle the natural way, on pasture, without antibiotics, pesticides or herbicides, or growth hormones.
Wendy Boys is the proud owner of Cocolico, a Vancouver-based company specializing in small-batch, hand-crafted chocolates and dessert sauces. She is an award-winning pastry chef who has apprenticed under world-renowned chocolatiers and designed dessert programs for some of Canada’s top restaurants. As one of the owners of Local Fresh Food Market, Wendy brings her taste for the extraordinary to the store.
Striving for excellence in local product, the store carries Birchwood Dairy gourmet ice cream, delectable cheeses from Amie’s Cheese & Dairy, Wild Coast Edibles teas, mushrooms and berries, piping hot coffee and fresh baked organic goodies from Aphrodite’s Cafe & Pie Shop, and wild sustainable seafood harvested by Blue Comet Seafoods.
The Local Fresh Food Market is the place where folks can buy local, fresh, organic or natural products grown or made in British Columbia. A shopping trip to The Local Fresh Food Market at 3010 Cambie Street is the beginning of a fresh experience and a lifetime of tasty and healthy dining.
