COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • DECEMBER 2018
31
Farm market banks on relationship-building Guichon sisters expanded business by selective sourcing and customer service
by SEAN HITREC LADNER – In Delta’s
recent civic election, newcomer Alicia Guichon won her council seat by a landslide. In second place for votes was veteran Lois Jackson, who ran for council after 19 years as mayor. Jackson trailed Alicia by over 1,000 votes. Guichon was unique among council candidates, and not just because at 30 years old she was one of the youngest candidates on the ballot. She’s also a fifth-generation farmer who has been building bridges between local farms and residents for the greater part of her life. Guichon owns
Backroads Family Farm Market, a farmstand at the corner of 52 Street and 28 Avenue, with her business partner, best friend and sister Danielle. The two have been connecting farm goods to the suburban population of Delta for over half their lives; now Guichon’s council seat allows her to take the connection even further. “[Being a Delta councillor] wouldn't work if I
vegetables, a small greenhouse and a chicken coop behind the store. All the produce is sold in the market, alongside other locally farmed fresh produce. Even the non- perishable shelves are sourced as locally as possible. Instead of dealing with the usual distribution systems, Alicia and Danielle pick up produce the day it’s harvested. After their morning meeting, they immediately begin calling around to local farmers, in search of what’s just come off the fields to provide the best products for their customers. “It's the quality that we
Sisters Alicia, left, and Danielle Guichon got their start selling corn from the back of a pick-up truck. Now they have a booming market, loyal customers, and Alicia is a Delta councillor. JENELLE LAILA PHOTOS
didn't have the support of my family or my business
partner as well,” she says. Two rescued farm dogs from Manitoba are also friendly companions, helping welcome visitors. In the summer, there’s a thriving acre of sunflowers,
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focus on. It's the extra effort,” Alicia says. “We want the most-fresh produce, so we'll pick up right from the field and we'll pick up every day or every other day.”
They work with 25 farmers in Delta and the Fraser Valley, a group
they’ve been cultivating since their teens. One is Kevin Husband, owner of Emma Lea Farms
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