Farmers market opens the door of discovery

By Lethbridge Herald on August 6, 2024.

Herald photo BY AL BEEBER Peter and ‘Gosia’ Zabielska serve up freshly fried pierogies to a customer at the farmers market on Saturday at the Agri-Food Hub and Trade Centre.

AL BEEBER
Lethbridge Herald

A Saturday visit to the Farmers Market at the Agri-Food Hub and Trade Centre can be an opportunity to explore and discover products one might not normally come across – in addition to the booths people expect to see there.

The bright and spacious digs may bring the Saturday market into a new light for attendees who on Saturday were packing the market shortly after it opened at 8 a.m.

Hub staff recommend guests park in the south lot which is closer to the market. Outside the south entrance are other booths.

One local company, which was attracting lineups, makes and sells a food that some consider a staple of the freezer – pierogies.

Gosia’s Homemade Pierogies have been a market favourite since Gosia Zabielska and husband Peter started selling them there eight years ago.

Gosia is the college nickname of Zabielska, a retired nurse who goes by Margaret in Canada. She has been making pierogies for 35 years and was convinced by a friend she should start marketing her delectable stuffed dough delights.

One thing led to another and Gosia rented a small table at the market and her business has expanded from there.

“We want to quit but people won’t let us,” she said.

The couple have developed a huge following at the market, selling them with a range of fillings including traditional potato and cheese, dill and cottage cheese, mushroom and potato as well as offerings such as taco pierogies, pizza pierogies, spinach and feta cheese and even shepherd’s pie pierogies.

Not only are pierogies sold in frozen packs of 12 and 18 they are also fried on the location and served to market attendees stopping to enjoy a snack as they wander among the myriad of kiosks and booths selling everything from fresh vegetables and fruits to even wines. 

Gosia also handmakes cabbage rolls for fans of that Eastern European staple as well as beet soup and a stew featuring sauerkraut, sausage and other meat.

Gosia makes a range of pierogies including vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free varieties.

Cheddar cheese, potato and bacon are the most popular, she says, but people also like the mushroom pierogies and ones filled with sauerkraut.

Cabbage rolls are made from real ingredients, handrolled and hand-pinched, she says.

New to the market this year is a booth run by the Aquaculture Centre of Excellence at Lethbridge Polytechnic.

The booth, which is not at the market to make a profit, sells cucumbers – about 2,500 each week – as well as a fish fertilizer.

“This is our first year, “ said Hailey Allard of the Polytechnic.

The cucumbers are part of research done at the Polytechnic which includes the use of different lighting at the greenhouse on campus.

“We’re just here to get the cucumbers to do a good home,” said Allard.

The booth attracts a lot of community member interested in what they’re doing because “it’s just kind of weird seeing the college at a farmers market, laughed Allard, who was working the booth alongside Honey Nava.

Eggplants are also offered sometimes at the booth. They’re the bio-control in the greenhouse, said Allard, attracting pests that would be inclined to munch on the cucumbers.

The fish fertilizer is created from fish waste at the centre. That waste is solidified and goes into a bio-reactor where bacteria break it down. 

The bacteria make the nutrients fully available and that product gets concentrated into fertilizer being sold at the booth.

According to the Polytechnic website, the centre “conducts applied research on a variety of aquatic-based topics, including aquaculture, aquaponics, aquatic ecosystems, aquaculture waste management and more,” adding that it provides students and the general public with many opportunities to learn about aquaculture and aquaponics.

“It’s ready to use, it doesn’t have any scents and the plants love it,” said Allard of the fertilizer.

One booth selling stone fruit from B.C. has been a staple at the market for years but because of a tough winter last year, it has to import product from B.C.

Gillz Produce Market Inc., which is based in Osoyoos, B.C. sells at markets in both Calgary and Lethbridge.

 The stand can also be found at the downtown market on Wednesdays.

Mandeep Gill said the new facility provides lots of parking and is convenient for visitors.

“We’re pretty happy with this,” he said. 

He said Lethbridge has been “really supportive” of his business.

Extreme weather – too much heat or too much cold – can affect growing conditions, he said, with winter damage impacting crops including nectarines and peaches. 

So they import fruit from Ontario to meet demand.

“We depend on Mother Nature like every other farmer,” he added of their business which also sells berries, apples and peppers.

Saturday’s markets run until Oct. 12 from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. in the UFA Hall while the downtown market’s last day will be Sept. 4. 

The downtown markets, which are presented in conjunction with the Downtown BRZ at Festival Square run, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.

The markets have been produced by the Lethbridge & District Exhibition since 1962. Eighty per cent of the products sold at the markets are produced in this province.