VANCOUVER (Staff) – It took 18 years, but Caroline Van Dine and her fellow marketers finally found a permanent home.
The Farmers Market in Woodstock, N.B. went from parking lots and vacant government buildings to a home of their own on the bank of the St. John River.
It all started innocently enough. Carolyn saw an ad in the local paper asking for vegetable marketers. The family farm needed the money and she already grew a small garden, so why not?
A few rows of beans got Van Dine involved in the farmer’s market association of which she is now president. The market association moved into its new home two years ago and includes more than vegetable and farm product stands.
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“We have suppers like you’ve never seen,” she told women attending the Canadian Farm Women’s Network Conference in Vancouver. Fresh New Brunswick salmon, fiddlehead, maple syrup pancakes and German sausage are favorites for customers and groups who hold meetings in the building.
“Some nights we can’t wash the dishes fast enough to get the dishes back on the table,” said Van Dine.
The building cost $125,000 but the market just keeps expanding. Plans are to add a second deck for more vendors and activities. A part-time manager has also been hired.
But Van Dine is the first to admit it didn’t come easily. The farmer’s market board is mostly women. Town and government officials just didn’t take them seriously.
Van Dine has expanded her own business as well. Her few rows of beans are now a few acres. She markets dried beans to supermarkets and is writing a bean cookbook. The farm now boasts computerized records and a farm plan.
Van Dine firmly believes in the talents of farm women, saying they can find value-added, diversification ideas or start new businesses. All this, she said, helps our families, communities and our industry.
