Fields Forward Society has launched Kootenay Farms Marketplace, an online farmers’ market offering Creston Valley grown and made food products, making a 10-mile diet so much easier for more people. It’s local food ordering from the comfort of your couch.
How does it work? Visit www.kootenayfarms.ca, register and then order beets, red peppers, pickles, mixed salad greens, apples, chocolate, freshly pressed juice, spices and more. Once you order using your credit card you can pick up at Spectrum Farms at 849 Erickson Road from 2 pm – 6 pm on Wednesdays. Email info@kootenayfarms.ca if you need help navigating the website.
The Creston Valley is abundant with fresh food and artisan food products and is the envy of many communities in the Kootenays that may not have access to fresh food grown close to home. With fruit stands, a Saturday farmers’ market and grocery stores selling locally grown and made food, Creston Valley residents have many options for buying fresh, safe food. Nowadays, however, people want even more convenience. Ordering online and then picking up on Wednesdays at Spectrum farms is so easy.
“I shopped online from home on Sunday and then picked up my order Wednesday at Spectrum Farms. It was so easy because someone else filled my grocery bag for me,” said Elizabeth Quinn Fields Forward Society Strategic Planner and former Executive Director of the BC Association of Farmers’ Markets.
People want to buy fresh, safe food grown close to home yet want the convenience of when to buy it, so Fields Forward has launched this pilot project to see if an online option will meet consumer demand for local food. At the Fields Forward Society forum in March 2018, farmers and food processors identified the need to strengthen infrastructure to scale-up aggregation, distribution, and market access.
“You’ll be amazed at how much fresh product is still available now. Producers and artisan food producers are excited about this new option for selling food in the Creston Valley” said Dave Mutch Fields Forward Society Liaison. “Our plan is to reach customers beyond the Valley depending on how popular the Marketplace becomes.”
This initiative is funded by the Columbia Basin Trust, Investment Agriculture Foundation (Province of BC and Government of Canada), and Kootenay Employment Development Society.