EDMONTON – Heading out to the farmers market is a popular activity for many Albertans, especially in the summer. To make navigating Alberta’s approved farmers markets a bit easier, the government has launched a new mobile app.
The app is available for Apple and Android. The tool helps link users to the latest information about market locations, times and dates.
“Alberta’s agriculture and food processing industry thrives on using innovative technology to increase efficiency and find new ways to do business. With an increasing cultural shift towards fresh, local foods, this app will help connect Albertans with producers,” Alberta Agriculture and Forestry Minister Oneil Carlier said.
The government announced the app Saturday morning at Edmonton’s City Market Downtown. Market manager Diana Neubauer believes the app will be well received by her customers and vendors.
“Farmers markets provide a tremendous opportunity for our agriculture community to showcase the hard work they do to ensure safe and delicious food gets delivered from the farm gate to the dinner plate every day, and to help Albertans see why agriculture is so important to our provincial economy,” Neubauer said.
On Saturday, the app had been downloaded 350 times. By Monday morning, downloads reached nearly 5,000.
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The province said farmers markets are the number one agri-tourism attraction in Alberta. From locally-grown fruits and vegetables to homemade jams and clothing, there’s no shortage of items for market-goers to peruse.
“Alberta’s agriculture industry is an important part of rural tourism within the province. The Conference Board of Canada estimates the economic footprint of rural Alberta to be $77.4 billion annually. Farmers markets across Alberta are contributing to this success by helping to showcase local foods that highlight our many culinary and ag-tourism opportunities,” Alberta Minister of Culture and Tourism Ricardo Miranda said.
The province believes the mobile app will improve the quality, timeliness and consistency of information for market-goers.
The app only has information about Alberta approved farmers markets, not public markets. An Alberta approved farmers market is one that has been approved by Alberta Agriculture and Forestry and meets the requirements of the program guidelines that have been approved by the minister.
For more information on Alberta approved markets or to download the app, visit the government of Alberta’s website.