Breakfast is just the Beginning...
“The odd time, I have brought twice as much as I can sell; so you take it home and start making pickles,” Kappler says with a chuckle. “Or you start juicing. Or you start throwing things in the freezer.”
But, according to Kappler, there is also much to love about the farmers market from a marketing perspective— you build up a trust relationship with local buyers, and you have a centralized venue to find new customers.
“There are a lot of people who wander down to the farmers market to check things out,” she says. “More often than not, they will end up buying something.
“You are also cutting out the middle man, but we try to keep our prices close to what you would buy in a store. I know some people think it should be cheaper, but this is intensive labour.”
With an increasingly urbanized sensibility, many Albertans now look to farmers markets as a trustworthy source of local food and as a means to make direct connections to the
surrounding agricultural community.
“People want to know where their food comes from and who is growing it,” states Kappler. “It’s important for us to communicate to people how crops are grown, and how food is done. There is a lot of misinformation out there. This gives an opportunity for our customers to ask a farmer directly.”
That’s not to say there aren’t sometimes differences in perspective between those from urban environments and those working in agriculture.
“You get a little bit of dirt on your potatoes,” Kappler says with a chuckle. “At a farmers market generally everything is very clean, but it’s also fresh from the field.
Things like potatoes grow under the soil, in the ground; so it sometimes is an education for some people who never grew up on a farm.
“The odd time you get a little ladybug in there. Someone will say: ‘Look there’s a ladybug in my parsley.’ And I will say: ‘Well, the ladybug is free.’”
CONNY KAPPLER PHOTO Hayden Lester picking raspberries fresh from the Kappler farm to eat at home with her family.
Kappler says despite the success of farmers markets, there is never enough sellers to meet the needs of local buyers for some products.
“There’s a need for more growers, especially strawberry growers. There really is a shortage. We have a lot of our members who are retiring or slowing down, and we’re just not getting the replacements.”
SUBMITTED PHOTO Rolling Hills Garden Club selling plants at the Little Market on the Prairie.
While hard work is definitely a part of the equation when it comes to being a seller in the market, Kappler feels the rewards outweigh the demerits.
“My favourite thing is the going home afterward. When you take all those empty packing boxes and are put them back in the truck, and you go: ‘I had a great day today.’
There’s lots of pride there as a seller.”❚
CONNY KAPPLER PHOTO Alberta Farm Fresh Producers Association executive director Conny Kappler poses with some garlic she picked from her farm near Rolling Hills for sale at local farmers markets.
Medicine Hat Dining Guide
Full Steakhouse, Sports Pub and Night Club all in one location.
1249 Trans Canada Way S.E. Medicine Hat, AB 403-527-6262 •
www.ralphsbar.com
GUEST LOYALTY CARD Earn Points on Every Dollar Spent
G
2301 Trans Canada Way SE, Medicine Hat Phone: 403-527-9311
57
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88
