The Port Alberni Farmers' Market Association is receiving $5,000 from the B.C. government's Buy Local Program to develop a cookbook that will provide tips on how to prepare healthy and nutritious meals from seasonally available local food.

Once it is published, the cookbook will be available at the market that is held every Saturday morning in Port Alberni's Spirit Square. The cookbook will showcase locally grown foods that are available at the market during each season, and it will provide the reader with tips and recipes on how to create delicious meals in their own kitchen using local ingredients. The food and recipes will also reflect the diverse cultures that are such a big part of the Alberni Valley.

In summer months, the market has about 50 vendors offering local fruit and vegetables, beef, lamb, pork, organic chicken and farm fresh eggs. The Port Alberni Farmers' Market Association is a non-profit society, and they will be celebrating their 20th anniversary in 2014.

The Buy Local Program offers successful applicants matching funds up to $100,000 to launch or expand local food marketing campaigns.

Building the local market for B.C. foods is a key commitment of government's Agrifoods Strategy, a component of the B.C. Jobs Plan, to lead the agrifoods sector growth into a $14-billion-a-year industry by 2017.

The provincial government's Buy Local Program is administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of B.C.

Quotes:

Minister of Agriculture Norm Letnick -

"Almost all of the farms in B.C. - 98 per cent - are family owned and operated, so when you buy local you are supporting your neighbours and community. I congratulate the Port Alberni Farmers' Market Association on receiving this funding, and I am sure their cookbook will be a hot seller at the market."

Port Alberni Farmers' Market Association president Vicki Lee -

"The Port Alberni Farmers' Market appreciates the opportunity to produce this cookbook. We believe that this cookbook will enable many cooks, young and old, to re-connect with the family farm kitchen. These recipes will help to remind people of a simpler time when family and home cooked meals were a way of life."

Quick Facts:

• The Port Alberni Farmers Market was established in 1994 and is the longest running year round outdoor market on Vancouver Island.

• The market is located in Spirit Square on the edge of the Alberni Canal and is open every Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to noon.

Learn More:

B.C. Buy Local Program: http://www.gov.bc.ca/agri/buylocal.html

Port Alberni Farmers' Market: http://www.portalbernifarmersmarket.com/

Keep up to date on the latest in B.C. foods and beverages: https://www.facebook.com/FoodsBC

For a photo of Minister of Agriculture Norm Letnick and Port Alberni Farmers' Market Association director Bill Thomson, visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcgovphotos/8477603116/

Media Contact:

Dave Townsend
Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Agriculture
250 356-7098
250 889-5945 (cell)