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Welcome
Fraser North Farmers Market Society is the home of the Haney, Pitt Meadows and Port Coquitlam Farmers Markets. With a goal to create community, sustainability, and access to local goods, Fraser North Farmers Market Society is where the locals love to shop.
The Vision
The Fraser North Farmers Market Society has been created to encourage a healthy community. “This is where it happens, at the market, connecting community around the table, reflecting the rhythm, the passion, uniqueness and diversity, nourishing the mind, body and soul.”
The Mission
The Fraser North Farmers Market Society encourages a healthy community by providing the public with direct access to food producers. The Market serves to stimulate and support the local economy, to provide opportunities to inform and entertain and to support and strongly encourage environmental sustainability.
The History
In the early part of 2003, Building Community Solutions asked the community to come together and take part in a study circle process to look at issues around poverty, youth and building a healthy community. The Building Community Solutions Steering Committee felt very strongly that a Farmers Market could achieve the goal of building community and a unique experience. A market had been tried in the past but wasn’t successful, so the Committee did some research and concluded:
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• People are hungry to make connections with each other
• Farmers Markets are like mini-festivals, they attract people looking to have a shared experience
• Creating relationships between people is the key to success for any community
• Most people want locally grown produce
• Historically, Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows are farming communities
• All over North America, part suburban and part rural communities like ours, are struggling to provide a good quality of life, trying to retain residents and attract businesses while not losing their unique local character
• Farmers Markets address some of these very complex issues by providing a ‘sense of place’, allowing communities like ours to cultivate and support what makes us unique.
A committee was formed in May of 2004. They were incorporated as the Haney Farmers Market Society on August 4, 2004. After numerous meetings, a location was secured, a purpose statement created and with a loan of two thousand dollars from the Building Community Solutions Steering Committee, the market began. The Haney Farmers Market Committee proceeded with its first market from August 21 to October 9, 2004.
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The following May, Haney Farmers Market commenced for a longer season. The Market was able to move closer to 224th Street making it part of the downtown shopping experience. The number of satisfied customers and eager vendors grew.
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As the seasons changed and years went by, a market coordinator was hired to facilitate growth. The District of Maple Ridge supported the Market by purchasing and installing four permanent signs on provincial and municipal roadways. In 2009, The Society was invited into the City of Port Coquitlam, forming a Thursday afternoon farmers' market.
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A thirteen week pilot market in Port Coquitlam was held in 2009 and proved to be a resounding success. The Market is held every Thursday from June to mid-October, from 3pm to 7pm in Leigh Square in the Community Arts Village by City Hall.
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In February 2020 our membership voted to adopt the new name of the Fraser North Farmers Market Society in order to better encompass the work we do in the communities we serve.
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The Fraser North Farmers Market Society continues to value its ‘roots’. With an ongoing commitment to local food security, social, environmental and economic sustainability, the Board of Directors looks to the community for direction and support. The Society looks forward to the opportunity to be part of the communities of Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Katzie Nation, and Port Coquitlam for many years to come.