Monday, December 5, 2016

Farm Markets

On the way home from our first adventure, we stopped at the Lepp Farm Market, a farm store selling meat, produce and dairy products.  Our daughter does a lot of her shopping there.  And I have always been interested in local food and the chance to buy directly from the farmer.

Obviously not all the products here come from one farm, but these types of stores gather produce from a number of farms in the Fraser Valley, so you can go to one place to get them.  And they label it if it's not local.  In the end there are only a few other things that you need to go to a regular grocery store for.

There were big bins of squash and apples out front.

And your choice of 50 lb. bags of carrots, or smaller amounts of the traditional orange plus yellow and purple ones.

And my favourites, Brussels Sprouts.

We ended up at two other farm markets over the week, including this one where we stopped in late afternoon on the way home from one of our adventures.

For the first time I can remember, there was an educational display for children attached to this store, with a working dairy operation.  They had turkeys, pigs, a pony and a goat in open pens for you to see, but they also had a big sign with each one giving you a bit of information.  The operating dairy has a full-scale educational program where students and families can visit to see a robot milking the cows, and learn about how they are cared for.  I'm all in favour of any efforts like this to educate people about how their food is produced.

I look forward to visiting in the summer, perhaps in berry season, when we can see more of all these local farms and farm markets.  Meantime, it snowed here last night, about 4-6" of heavy wet stuff.


13 comments:

  1. I just read all your recent posts on your visit to BC and will make just this comment. I enjoyed all your photos and meeting your family there. It's nice to spend time with them I'm sure and to get to know the new area they live in. I have a sister in Chilliwack so know some of the area around there and we've toured up the sea to sky highway and back the back way visiting waterfalls and seeing some gorgeous sights in 2013. There is so much to see and do around there but I've never been to the farmer's markets. My brother-in-law has a huge garden so they don't need to buy elsewhere! Thanks for sharing your tours.

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  2. Such beautiful looking food. What a great market!

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  3. Lots of food processing to get us through the winter months!

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  4. my kind of market and a great snap of tom turkey!! but does anyone really need 50 pounds of carrots??

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  5. What a fabulous display of every vegetable needed, those carrots look so bright and tempting. And you have more snow, looks like winter has arrived in full swing.

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  6. Beautiful! all that fresh produce om nom nom

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  7. I love shopping at farmer's markets! Looks like some nice ones where you daughter lives.

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  8. Love farm stores like this. Everything looking so fresh and colorful.
    Great idea to educate people about farms. So many people take the farmers for granted.
    Someone had to grow the food to put in the stores. I am so thankful for farmers.

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  9. Nothing better then local fresh food is there ?! We also buy local from a farmers market I like the food and the folk and they also have some home made goodies to like fresh pies and such . Lovely photos . It is pouring rain here this evening and windy temps are mild here. Thanks for sharing , Have a good day !

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  10. Wow, what a feast in that wonderful farm store. I go to our Farmers' Market every Saturday and get the rest of my stuff from the Community Food Co-op, with mostly local foods. And everything not local is so labeled. I'm now in Florida enjoying the sunshine and warm (to me) temperatures. :-)

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  11. What a nice market! I bet those carrots tasted awesome!:)

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