How much are you willing to pay for local, naturally grown food?

How much are you willing to pay for local, naturally grown food?

Recently Steve and I attended the 1st annual Island Agriculture Show near Duncan B.C. The event catered to mostly larger farms, with speakers and exhibitors. We were really lucky to hear 3 great speakers, that not only gave us things to think about on a small scale farm, but also encouraged us that we were heading in the right direction.

One of the speakers was Gwen Simpson, from Alberta. Her farm is called Inspired Market Garden. This passionate woman’s workshop was called “Are You Charging Enough?” Persuading the public to pay more for your food’. This topic really resonated with me, as this past week I have been working on my market stand and in that working on pricing. I have had conversations with local farmers and even they still find it tricky to price out their food. Pricing looks different out here in BC, as it is more costly than Ontario and our grocery store’s prices are even higher due to living on a gulf island. Does that mean that people out here are more willing to pay a fair price for local food? I have heard there are some people who complain the prices at the farmers market are too high, while others are just so happy to support the local farmers.

Getting back to Gwen, she encouraged farmers to not sell themselves short. She based her presentation around grocery store vegetable facts and stories. Her main two points were to sell the benefits of locally grown food by way of building a story around it and also listening to your clients stories around food. Through her farm Gwen sells many ‘value added products’ to help make her economically sustainable. Products such as teas, herb bundles, and herbal care. Not only tell your story, but get creative with your product. A farmer’s effort and passion for growing good food is worth paying a fair price for.