New farmers' market brings fresh, local goods to south Edmonton

Finding fresh food and locally made goods just got a little easier for people onEdmonton's south side.

The new Bountiful Farmers'Market on 36th Avenue and 97th Street opened this weekend with more than 100 vendors.

Market spokesperson Bri Vos said Bountiful fills a gap in the city's farmers' market scene.

"We chose the south intentionally. Edmonton's southwest and southeast have seen incredible residential growth in the past decade, and it's under-served for farmers' markets," she said.

"It's obviously something that the public and our vendors have been looking for for a long time, and people are responding really well to it."

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The indoor market runs year-round Friday to Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The goal is to provide a space where consumers have greater access to local goods while vendors have improved access to the public, Vos said.

She hopes the market will also serve as a community hub a place to celebrate the city's culture with events and performances.

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It was important to the market team that the space be indoors, Vos said.

"It's something the vendors have really wanted for a long time because the rain and the smoke of outdoor weather for summer markets is something that they can't control, and that impacts their business heavily," she said.

Vendors sell everything from produce to grain to meat to art.

Arno's Fine French Pastry chef Arnaud Valade has worked at the downtown and Strathcona farmers' markets, and has now signed on to be a vendor at Bountiful year-round.

Valade said he hopes working in the south will help get his pastries into the hands of new customers.

"It's a really big and huge opportunity to be on the south side," he said.

"We don't have a lot of markets on the south side."