SASKATOON - After 12 years of calling River Landing home, the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market has plans to relocate.
The Farmers’ Market co-operative, a non-profit group that runs the market, wouldn’t confirm the exact location, but said the location they’re negotiating is “suburban.”
The co-op’s moving plans follow disagreements with the city, which owns the space.
The city wants the building to be operational six days a week, but the market only runs on Wednesdays and weekends.
“A lot of our vendors aren’t equipped to operate six or seven days a week,” said Erika Quiring, executive director of the Farmers’ Market.
“(Moving) isn’t something we desired, it’s not something all our vendors want to do … We’re a little frustrated as a whole.”
Lesley Anderson, the city’s director of planning and development, said the co-op hasn’t lived up to the contractual agreements.
“The current contract we have with them, and the one going back to 2014, has always asked them to animate the space six days a week … Saturdays are great down at that site, and that’s what we’re looking to expand on,” Anderson told CTV News.
So what will replace the building?
The co-op’s lease with the city ends at the end of the year.
The city said it still plans to have a farmers’ market occupy the space.
“There will still be a farmers’ market component. What that exactly looks like, we don’t know yet,” Anderson said.
The current lease for the Farmers’ Market building is $10 a year, pus contributions to the city’s reserve fund.
Some farmers’ market vendors are ‘terrified,’ anticipate losses
The co-op said as it moves locations, many vendors will follow – but some fear for their bottom line.
“Some of them are terrified … we’re expecting a 30 per cent decrease in sales and traffic,” Quiring said.
She said the last farmers’ market downtown is planned for Dec. 22, and expects to move into a new building by January.
City councilors are scheduled to discuss the Farmers’ Market building in a meeting on Monday.
