Customers can buy locally grown and sourced food at Discover Montessori School in Nanaimo during their July 19 Friday Farm Market, running every week until the fall. (Submitted)

By Jordan Davidson

friday farm market

Weekly Farm Market extends selling season for Nanaimo producers

Aug 2, 2024 | 5:28 AM

NANAIMO — Mid-Islanders now have another way to get their hands on locally grown fruits and vegetables.

The Friday Farm Market will now run every Friday from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the entrance of Discover Montessori School at 3460 Jingle Pot Rd., after seeing the success of their initial market at the start of July.

The market is a collaboration between the school and the Nanaimo Food Hub, with co-founder Rhianna Solomon explaining how her previous job as a community farm manager inspired her to continue connecting local producers and customers.

“We kind of dreamed this up after working together and not wanting to lose the partnership between farmer and marketing and distribution support. And so we did a deep dive into Food Hubs and realized that nobody is really offering that service for Nanaimo farmers currently, and there is a need for it.”

Solomon now works at Montessori School Farm, which held its first Friday Farm Market on July 5, at the former home of the Shady Mile Market.

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“It’s designed to have an ease of access from the street and its well-known, people are used to getting their produce there, at least old timers still remember the Shady Mile Market.”

Produce sold at the market will mainly come from the Montessori School Farm, along with a number of local farmers offering other products like flowers and meat. (Submitted)

Solomon said the goal of the market is not only to improve food security with local producers but to also build a connection with their customers.

“The more avenues for that, the more people will be able to access that food. The response has been really positive. Typically everyone wants to connect with the origins of their food and talk to the people growing it, and so the market has provided an outlet for that.”

Solomon said they plan to operate the market every Friday until the fall, take a break over winter and start back up again in the spring, with a long-term goal of a year-round selling season and eventually opening their own farm store.

More information on the Friday Farm Market can be found here on their Facebook page, including weekly stock updates.

Customers ordering from the Montessori School farm table during the first Friday Farm Market on July 5. (Submitted)

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow