One of Winnipeg’s bigger and better known farmers’ markets has picked up public funding for a study of the possibilities for controlled and sustainable expansion.
The provincial government on Saturday pledged $32,300 toward the expected $65,000 cost of the “Vision 2020” initiative planned by the St. Norbert Farmers’ Market Co-op.
Le Marche Saint-Norbert Farmers’ Market, at the far end of Pembina Highway in the city’s southernmost reaches, is the work of a non-profit co-operative that first opened in 1988 and now includes over 130 full-time vendors and about 50 casual vendors.
Read Also
U.S. grains: Corn rebounds from contract lows on short covering, bargain buying
Bargain buying and short covering lifted U.S. corn futures on Monday after the market slid to contract lows on expectations for strong U.S. output, traders said.
The Vision 2020 initiative was prompted by the need to manage the St. Norbert market’s growing popularity and aging infrastructure, help the co-op to become more financially sustainable and capitalize on the changing face of the St. Norbert business zone, Premier Greg Selinger said in a release Saturday announcing the funding.
“This investment will develop a long-term vision for the market that will allow for growth but keep true to our roots as a local producer-driven marketplace,” market co-op president Phil Veldhuis, a beekeeper from Starbuck, about 30 km west of St. Norbert, said in the same release.
Selinger described the market as a “well-recognized local garden-market destination that has demonstrated a long track record of success.”
The St. Norbert market co-op also picked up $10,000 in funding for site improvements earlier this year through the Farmers’ Market Enhancement Project, administered through the 40-member Farmers’ Market Association of Manitoba.
Selinger, who announced the funding Saturday morning in St. Norbert, also launched Manitoba’s Local Produce Guide for 2010, which identifies the locations and dates of farmers’ markets and pre-picked market stands, U-pick vegetable gardens and community-supported farms around the province.
The guide is available at the provincial ag department’s GO offices, Travel Manitoba’s tourism information centres and the Destination Winnipeg office at Portage and Garry downtown.
