One of the driving trends today is the desire for simplicity. As consumers, who live in a highly complex world of super fast everything, one area where we are beginning to demand simplicity and back-to-basics is in the food we eat. This means seeking out food with very few additives or preservatives, food that we consider to be natural and wholesome. We are looking to connect our food with the people who sell it and perhaps to reconnect with ‘the way life used to be’. Why else have Farmer’s Markets become trendy places to shop - destinations to chat with our friends face-to-face instead of via Facebook, and places to get back in touch with our agrarian past and return to our homes and our tables with food that’s made the old fashioned way. It recharges us physically and mentally.
But if the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health has their way with the proposed “Public Market Guidelines" (Draft #3), Farmer’s Markets will soon become facilities that are over-regulated and where only food produced in provincially certified kitchens will be permitted to be sold. Admittedly it doesn’t specifically state that all food has to be made in an “approved facility” but reading between the lines it will only be a matter of time before all Farmer’s Markets in Saskatchewan, which ironically is the most agrarian province in Canada, will cease to exist as we know them now and as we knew them 35 years ago.
Based on the guidelines that are being proposed, it will be only “big” business that will have the capability to satisfy many of the unreasonable expectations that the Ministry of Health is attempting to impose on Farmer’s Markets. For example, the Ministry’s new guidelines will not allow small producers who grow fabulous nutrient-rich sprouts and microgreens to sell their product; individual homemakers with recipes for the best pumpkin pie you ever tasted will never grace a table at the market; and a local hunter who makes the best venison sausage may as well share his product with friends and family because he won’t be permitted at the market.
When the Regina Farmer’s Market opened 35 years ago, its goal was to be an extension of farm gate sales, says Ada Bennett, current manager of the market. In other words, the market’s premise was to provide the convenience of not having to drive miles out of the city to purchase farm-raised and prepared product. It was supposed to be simple, easy and straightforward. Then the Ministry of Health got involved in what was originally a Ministry of Agriculture domain and started to impose guidelines. Over the decades those guidelines have become increasingly more stringent.
These new proposed “Public Market Guidelines” are intended to affect every market across the province – large stakeholders like the Saskatoon and Regina markets, and small players with markets set up only a few months of the year. If you care about the future of the Farmer’s Markets around Saskatchewan, please read the proposed changes and express your comments directly to the Ministry of Health.
You can read the draft here. The deadline on the draft says comments were to be made by May 14, however, due to extensive public outcry over the changes, the deadline has apparently been extended indefinitely.
One concern is the use of the term “public” instead of “farmers.” This seemingly minor change moves the market clearly away from its agricultural roots. Farmer’s markets are vital to the cityscape. At a time when consumers are demanding more and more farmer’s markets across the country and where attendance at markets is up substantially, the Ministry has taken a decidedly opposite approach.
Another concern is the number of days a market can operate. The draft states that a public market may operate only three days a week. This has been modified from Draft #2, where it originally stated “two days per week.” First, what is the motivation behind restricting market days? Is it an inspection issue? Restaurants operate year round without daily inspections. Why would a Farmer’s Market require daily inspections? The market managers are there to monitor that food sold at the market is safe. The Regina Farmer’s Market, as one example, has never had a food safety related outbreak in its 35 years of operation. Second, the Saskatoon Farmer’s Market is a year round, 7-day a week market. Are we prepared to lose a vital component of the City of Saskatoon, particularly since the Saskatoon Farmer’s Market was voted one of the 10 best Farmer’s Markets in the country? Third, last year, the Regina Farmer’s Market for the first time held an open market at Farm Progress Show. This year, if the new guidelines are approved the Regina Farmer’s Market would exceed the permitted number of days that they could be open and either be forced to close on one of their regular days, or not function at Farm Progress. If the decision is not to operate at Farm Progress, vendors who have already paid their booth fees would only be entitled to a partial refund of the fees they have already paid Farm Progress and the show would be left with a huge void.
Another concern is the restriction on products not permitted at any farmers market in the province, not to mention at flea markets, craft sales or bake sales. Here are just a few of them - see the guidelines for a complete list
- Perogies, cabbage rolls, dolmades or similar ethnic foods made with meat
- Sprouts or micro-greens
- Wild mushrooms
- Pumpkin pie
- Fruit pies and pastries, eg: cream or custard filled pies or pastries, pies with meringue
- Products containing meat or dairy products, egg filling, eg: sausage rolls, quiche
- Soup with meat
- Cured ham and bacon
Think about whether or not having a vibrant, dynamic, variety-filled market is important to you. For years people complained that the market was boring and lacked variety. The markets in both Regina and Saskatoon have become really fun markets to visit and shop. As for smaller markets, in recent years, new ones have sprung up in towns across the province. These new regulations will destroy many of the smaller markets, and turn the larger ones into uninteresting spots that few will visit.
If you care about the fate of local food and of your local farmer’s market, please speak up. You can contact:
Lisa Piller, Food Safety consultant
Environment Health Unit
Population Health Branch
Saskatchewan Ministry of Health
3475 Albert St.
Regina, SK
S4S 6X6
Telephone: (306) 787-1560.
P.S. Ada Bennett, manager of the Regina Farmer’s Market has posted her comments on the draft guidelines on the Regina Farmer’s Market website. You can read her opinion on the changes and how it will affect market vendors by clicking this link.