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Bowen's farmers market goes virtual

The local staple returns May 16 in a new format and based out of Orbaek
A bunch of veggies in a box
The farmers market is finding a new way to get everything from flowers to fresh lettuce to the community of Bowen Island.

The Bowen Island Farmers Market, run by the Bowen Agricultural Alliance (BAA), is going online in order to continue to connect locals to fresh, locally grown food as well as items made, baked and grown on Bowen.

Farmers’ markets have been deemed an essential service and it is important to keep markets going. BAA hopes to re-open the market at Bowen Island Community School in the future, when the COVID-19 restrictions allow, but due to the complexities of COVID-19 regulations, we’ve gone a different route. BAA has joined the BC Farmers Market Association and also teamed up with gardener and chef Matt Matheson and his team at Orbaek (Matt, Jak and Dylan). We’ve created a new online ordering and pick-up system––a solution that can include all our vendors, as well as making room for new vendors.

Orbaek is a seven-acre farm site at 1125 Grafton Road, formerly known as Meadowbrook. You may have noticed the many apple trees and other improvements on the site, which will act as the host of the new Bowen Island Farmers Market Online for market pick-ups on Saturdays 10 a.m. to noon, May 16 through Oct. 3. 

We are very grateful to Orbaek and the owners and Orbaek team and everyone who is helping to make the new Farmers Market Online possible.

Here’s how it will work: Vendors will upload their for-sale items online, people in the community will be able to order online (before 3 p.m. on Fridays) and then artisan, crafters, gardeners and farmers will prepare ordered items and drop them at the site on Saturday morning. Order bags will be ready for pick-up by the buyers between 10 a.m. and noon.

What is different: there will be no browsing. All sales orders will be placed online in advance. Drive in and pick-ups of the orders will be made with social distancing in place. We want to keep this a safe market.

Produce, fruit, vegetables, jam, bread, baked goods, bouquets of flowers, crafts, meat, lots of lettuce, greens, seeds, salt, coffee beans, seedlings and plants can all be purchased through the Bowen Farmers Market Online system.

 The first market is coming up really soon and is free for vendors to participate in. If you would like try out the new online Bowen Farmers Market, please send us an email to bowenagalliance@gmail.com with your business name, email, phone and what you plan to sell ASAP so we can add you to the system. Regular market rates apply after May 16. Please email for more information.

If you’re interested in buying from the new Bowen Farmers Market, stay tuned and watch our Facebook page and for posters featuring all the links. 

Thank you for your patience and support!