Tim Hoven, co-founder of farmer’s market
By Greg Kamphuis, student-reporter
A new farmer’s market in Kingsland that will provide Calgarians with the opportunity to purchase and eat food that is grown in the fields of Alberta that surround their city is set to open this summer.
Tim Hoven of Hoven Farms and Gert Lund of Lund’s Organic Farm are the masterminds of the proposed Kingsland Farmers Market. They have chosen the old Shaganappi South Car Dealership on 77 Avenue and Macleod Trail for the location, and hope to have an outdoor summer market up and running by June 16, says Hoven.
After a public meeting at the Kingsland Community Centre, the duo is waiting on a development permit from the city that will give them the full go ahead. Hoven hopes to have this process completed by May.
Lund and Hoven have been brainstorming ideas on what a good farmers market looks like and searching Calgary for a suitable location since last summer.
“This farmers market is going to be all those hours of talk coming alive,” says Hoven. “We have a dream of taking the ‘make it, bake it, or grow it’ mantra from the Alberta Farmers Market Association to the next level.”
The idea of ‘taking it to the next level’ does not stop with the Kingsland Farmers Market for Hoven. He has a dream of creating a network through which Alberta farmers from Edmonton to Calgary can get their food to local consumers.
Hoven has realized that the community of farmers in Alberta is good at producing food but there are other important skills that it lacks.
“It is the marketing and distribution of those products that farmers struggle with, for a variety of reasons,” says Hoven. “Our goal is to help farmers solve those problems.”
President of the Calgary Food Council Paul Hughes repeatedly used the words great, amazing, and ecstatic while talking about the food council’s reaction to the new farmers market.
“As the food policy council, we advocate for efficiency in the food system, so we advocate for the growing and selling of local foods right here in Calgary,” said Hughes. “The farmers market is really what the food council is all about.”
Doing some quick math, Hughes figured that with over a million people living in Calgary eating three meals a day that each consist of multiple food items there are over 10 million food items consumed in Calgary per day.
He argued that not nearly enough of these products come from within Alberta, and if they did it would be a considerable and sustainable boost to Calgary’s economy.
“That’s economics 101 is keep the dollar in your community, and we’re not,” said Hughes. “Why are we importing carrots and potatoes that we can grow here?”
Hughes also likes the concept of farmers markets because of the high nutrient value of fresh foods. He feels that with conventional mass food production the idea of quality is lost because the focus on quantity is to great.
Another positive aspect of the Kingsland Farmers Market is the location. The chosen location is central with an LRT station nearby.
Alderman Joe Ceci says that if a farmers market is located in walking distance to residential areas and the LRT that it can contribute so a good sense of community.
“They are generally good people who go to farmers markets,” said Ceci. “They are concerned about local food and the local economy.”
Ceci’s ward borders on the proposed site for the Kingsland Farmers Market, and will also be home to the Calgary Farmers Market if its relocation goes as planned. The Calgary Farmers Market’s lease at its current location, The Currie Barracks, will be finished as of Nov. 30. The current plan is for it to move to a new location on Blackfoot Trail.
Ceci is not worried about competition between the two famers markets. He thinks that there are enough people who like to shop at farmers markets to provide both businesses with adequate customers.
Hughes and Hoven would agree, in fact Hughes advocates the construction of ‘hundreds more’ like the Kingsland Farmers Market. They think that the closer Calgarians are to their food, the better.
“The biggest benefit of farmers markets is they allow for the building of one on one relationships between farmers and the people who eat their food,” says Hoven. “Farmers markets allow farmers to generate more income for the farms, and they allow urban people to develop roots in the soils that grow their food.”
Related posts:
- 2nd ANNUAL CHRISTMAS MARKET AT McKENZIE TOWNE FARMER'S MARKET The McKenzie Towne Hall, site of the Christmas Market McKenzie...
- A QUESTION FOR THE ALBERTA OILPATCH: IF THE MARKET’S SO GREAT, WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE MARKET? By Dave Climenhaga Let’s put this question another way: If...
- VIDEO: CALGARIANS ENJOYING MORE LOCAL, ORGANIC FOOD CHOICES How can Calgarians help to reduce the presence of chemicals...
- FLEA MARKET TIPS WHILE TRAVELING Troy Media – By Judy McEuen While it is fun...
- TASTE OF ALBERTA ATTRACTS CALGARY “LOCAVORES” Local producers were on hand to show wares at the...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
