Farmers market is worth keeping

It was a shock to hear the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market is in the precarious position of losing its tenancy at the market site.

One should look back and see the history that brought the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market to fruition.

The purpose of the farmers market was always to create strong links between rural producers and urban consumers.

This link has been a real benefit to both sides in supplying locally grown food products.

The Saskatoon Food Charter passed in principle by city council stated that “local agriculture is important to producers and consumers alike.

Urban and rural food security initiatives will preserve agricultural production and build on the mutual interdependence of producers and consumers.

The Farmers Market … serve(s) as a viable model of this interaction with local farmers being able to market their products directly, and consumers being able to access nutritious, wholesome food.”

The city is now putting demands on the farmers market to operate six days a week. However, this does not recognize the reality of rural production.

For example, free-run, nutritious eggs require farmers to follow a natural production process, which does not meet this schedule.

These local producers and others, such as fresh vegetable producers, are therefore likely to lose their space at the market.

They would be substituted by generic goods provided mostly by large external entities.

Saskatoon Farmers’ Market is a boon to the city. Let’s keep it and be proud that it serves both rural and urban communities.

Don Kossick, Saskatoon