Great Food For All Ages
Basin farmers' markets, like those in Invermere and Golden, support access to fresh, local food, helping build stronger communities.
At farmers’ markets throughout the Columbia Basin, people wander the stalls in search of heads of crisp lettuce, pyramids of plump tomatoes and cartons of freshly collected eggs. Bags full, they depart ready to nourish their bodies with healthy, locally grown, delicious food.
In Invermere, one of these buyers has been Evelyn Walker, Executive Director of Windermere Valley Child Care. In summer 2025, she attended the market to purchase food for the centre’s children, who are “berry-aholics,” she says.
Down the highway, in Golden, senior Carol Caldwell frequents the market, too, and loves “all of the fresh fruit and vegetables.”
Like Carol and these kids, many people have been able to enjoy local harvests thanks to the BC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Coupon Program. The program enables lower-income families, pregnant people and seniors to obtain coupons to purchase items such as vegetables, fruit, eggs and meat.
In 2025, Columbia Basin Trust worked with the BC Association of Farmers’ Markets (BCAFM) to include seniors living in affordable housing and licensed child care providers as part of the initiative.
Through its partnership with BCAFM, the Trust helps make access to this kind of local, healthy food possible.
Helping Little Ones Grow
At its busiest times, about 60 children enliven the rooms of Windermere Valley Child Care. The centre provides morning snack. “We wanted to make sure that all of our kids had a good start to their day,” Evelyn says. The coupons “gave us the opportunity to really support local food, and to buy things that we weren’t otherwise able to afford for our kiddos. They could try things like Basin blueberries and locally grown strawberries. They were pretty excited.”
Some of the children even did a taste test between store-bought and Basin-grown blueberries. “Which ones are bigger and which ones are juicier and which ones are plumper?—and they could tell. They were like, ‘This is the best blueberry ever!’”
Sustenance for Seniors
In Golden, seniors have access to the resources they need to thrive through programs like Better at Home and the Seniors’ Community Connector. In that community, both of these groups offer the coupons.
Carol found the coupons especially valuable while her husband was ill. “The fresh vegetables were wonderful. The ability to feed him healthily was huge.”
She freezes or cans the food that doesn’t get eaten immediately, so it’s available in winter. And, in an act of looking out for each other, the seniors who receive the coupons are also known to share their farmers’ market finds.
Expanded Recipients—and Benefits
The Trust has been supporting the coupon program since 2018, and the benefits extend beyond food. The children in Invermere, for example, learned about what can be grown nearby thanks to the area’s climate.
“It has opened so many doors,” Evelyn says.
And Carol and other Golden seniors enjoy the social aspect of the market. “A lot of us go for coffee and tea afterwards and have a good catch-up.”
So if you wander a farmers’ market and see a sign posted at a stall—FARMERS’ MARKET NUTRITION COUPONS ACCEPTED HERE—know that children, families and seniors alike are enjoying wholesome, tasty food while supporting the farmers that make the Basin so nutritionally rich.
A Farmer’s Perspective
Like the families and seniors who benefit from the program, local farmers also see its impact firsthand.
Weaver’s Bee Co. runs one of the farmers’ market stalls in Windermere, selling honey, fruit and vegetables—in addition to berries (including those popular blueberries) from nearby farms that have been pollinated by the apiary’s bees.
The business accepts BC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Coupons.
“For many people, Nutrition Coupons make it possible to choose fruits and vegetables they otherwise couldn’t afford, giving them a variety of healthy foods that support well-being,” says co-owner Shannon Root.
The program supports farmers, too. “We are busier because of the program and are so grateful that the very thing helping so many people eat healthy is also helping us feed our family. It’s helping small farmers and apiaries like ours stay afloat in challenging times.”
