Student-grown produce shines at Kwantlen Farmers’ Market

Richmond’s Minoru Park Plaza is sprawling with local vendors and artisans on Tuesdays.

The Kwantlen Farmers’ Market returns each week with makers, bakers, and growers, selling fresh produce, sweet treats, coffee, and other local delicacies.

The market started with Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s sustainable agriculture program and the KPU Farm, which was created to support food security efforts by selling affordable, local produce.

Elysia Ritchotte, the Kwantlen Farmers’ Market manager, joined the Global Indigenous Learning Experience Program at KPU last year. Rebecca Harbut, chair of the sustainable agriculture program, reached out to her about a role that supports Indigenous programming at the market.

“The market is missing that community connection aspect, and I think that’s something that has really been … lacking in the past, so I’m hoping to feel that engagement a little bit more and try to connect with different communities,” Ritchotte says.

She wants to continue building Indigenous connections and invite Indigenous vendors and KPU students to the market.

“[We are] trying to have a broader reach with our marketing and connect more with the younger community, because I feel like we have a lot of the elders that come out, and we want young people to be excited … and be talking about it,” Ritchotte says.

Now in its 11th year, the market has grown and features different vendors: Clockwork Legacy Coffee, a family-owned business producing specialty coffee beans by co-founders Cristina and Diego Schonenberg, and Alma’s Baked Goodies, who makes homemade baked goods.

For Cristina, the market is a chance for people to try Clockwork’s coffee and hear the family story behind the Salvadorian company.

“We started going to markets, and we found that people would come back to look for us again, and say ‘oh, I tried your coffee, I bought it last time, and I really like it,’” Cristina says.

“People who know a lot about coffee and are very specific with the coffee that they buy … understand the quality that we’re bringing.”

Sustainable agriculture student Cameron Boyle, who is also a member of the Sustainable Agriculture Student Association, says volunteering at the market has been awesome.

“[The volunteers, vendors, and customers are] just really happy to be here, even though it’s pouring rain and miserable,” Boyle says. “[They are] glad to have access to fresh, local food, meet students, and ask questions.” 

Ritchotte hopes to expand the market’s impact by increasing vendors and creating a welcoming, safe space for children and families.

“It’s really lovely to see that we could build something where we see the people the food is going to, and it’s not just getting shipped off to somewhere,” she says. “For me, it’s mostly just about the connection … I think that’s what really brings people together.”

The Kwantlen Farmers’ Market will run every Tuesday until Dec. 22. ​For weekly vendors, visit www.kwantlenfarmersmarket.org.