The Parker’s Summer Fling salad is made with greens from the local Vancouver farmers market. Mijune Pak

Follow Me Foodie: Fresh from your local farm

September 8 to 15 is the fourth annual Farmers’ Appreciation Week which celebrates local food and farmers, and addresses issues facing the local food system.

BC farmers’ markets are hosting activities from farm tours to antique farm equipment displays in celebration.

According to the 2011 Canadian Census of Agriculture, the average age of farmers in BC is higher than the national average. As they get older, the total number of farmers is decreasing. That’s why the BC Association of Farmers’ Markets is emphasizing the need to support young farmers since they are the future to sustaining an “eat local, buy local” food moment and system.

Only five per cent of the land in BC is appropriate for farming and only one per cent of this represents the best soil. Our farmers produce almost half of the food we eat in BC and resources and farmland are scarce.

Farmers produce quality products at affordable prices using sustainable practices, and they rely on public support from chefs and consumers. They supply farm-to-table restaurants and offer Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) — a model where consumers purchase a share of the anticipated harvest in advance, to help farmers early in the season with start-up costs. In return shareholders get weekly supplies of fresh produce.

Here are just a few of the many farms selling quality produce at local farmers’ markets: Read the full article.

See more Follow Me Foodie stories from Mijune in the WE Vancouver:

• FOLLOW ME FOODIE: The “Forget-Me-Nots” of Vancouver’s restaurant scene
• FOLLOW ME FOODIE: Wild BC spot prawn season begins
• FOLLOW ME FOODIE: The best thing I ever ate…
• FOLLOW ME FOODIE: Gentrification and Vancouver’s DTES
• FOLLOW ME FOODIE: Cooking up a career
• FOLLOW ME FOODIE: Father’s Day for Vancouver foodies
• FOLLOW ME FOODIE: Sushi 101: Part 2 – Try the nigiri
• FOLLOW ME FOODIE: Sushi 101: Part 2 – How to use comdiments
• FOLLOW ME FOODIE: Sushi 101: Part 3 – How to eat it
• FOLLOW ME FOODIE: Vancouver Food Cart Fest
• FOLLOW ME FOODIE: Vancouver’s High on Pie
• FOLLOW ME FOODIE: What is the definition of local?
• FOLLOW ME FOODIE: Why Mijune Pak writes about negative experiences.
• FOLLOW ME FOODIE: Hog Wild in Whistler
• FOLLOW ME FOODIE: Looking for “authentic” food or authenticity in food
• FOLLOW ME FOODIE: Modern VS Authentic Ramen
• FOLLOW ME FOODIE: We All Scream for Ice Cream
• FOLLOW ME FOODIE: Sous vide’s stock rising to the top