Glenkens Farmers Market
The Glenkens Farmers Market is held on the second Saturday of every month throughout the year. The venue is the newly refurbished town hall in St. Johns Town of Dalry and it has gone from strength to strength since the idea was first launched.
The market is run on a Not-for-profit basis by the Dalry Town Hall Committee. When allocating stalls, priority will always be given to vendors from the local area.
A growing number of local producers now see the Glenkens Farmers Market as a major contributor to their business success and the range of produce on sale is growing every month. From locally produced meats, poultry, cheese, eggs and breads to home made jams, cakes and biscuits, some of the finest produce in Dumfries and Galloway is on sale at the Market.
Entrance fee for the public is only 50p and the funds go to the continuing upgrade of the Town Hall. The Market runs from 10.00 am until 1.00 pm but as a lot of the producers can sell out very quickly due to the high demand, the earlier you arrive the better.
Stall Hire
To enquire about the Farmers Market or to book a stall, please go to the "Contact Us" page
(add Farmers Market Stall Enquiry to the subject line)
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or telephone 01644430162
This is a very popular event which means we do not have much spare space available so book early
Stall Hire Prices.........£10 per table
Public Entrance Fee - £0.50 pence per person.
All monies collected go towards the maintenance and repair of the hall.
The Glenkens Farmers Market is organised by Dalry Town Hall Committee and first ran as a pilot in February 2007 on a bi-monthly basis. By popular demand from both the community and local producers the markets is now run monthly. The markets are run on a very tight budget as we realised very early that if the stalls were priced too high, local vendors would not be able to participate.
* to provide a source of healthy, affordable and tasty food for the residents of Galloway and The Glenkens areas;
* to promote a positive image of The Glenkens and to contribute to the economic regeneration of the area;
* to contribute to the health and sustainability of Galloway and The Glenkens agriculture by providing an outlets for small local producers;
* to create a friendly, accessible and pleasing space where everyone can feel welcome - promoting links between all members of the community; the public, shoppers, businesses and visitors.
The markets also promote the economic and environmental advantages of locally produced food where use of fossil fuels in transportation and wasteful packaging are kept to a minimum.
"What you should know about your food"
Just what you need to make your shopping basket more wholesome for all the family! Glenkens Farmers Market provides a warm welcome to all of its customers, and a high quality of the freshest Galloway produce.
Local growers and producers take personal pride in the food they bring to their Farmers' Market and want you to enjoy it. The emphasis is on freshness, quality and value for money, Buying locally means you can ask how the food is produced and grown and at the same time customer feedback is appreciated by the producer.
Buying at Farmers Markets is a greener way to shop. There are many fewer transport miles on the produce sold at the Markets. Fresh produce sold at the Markets means just that - fresh - not goods travelling long distances on lorries or sitting in cold stores for two or three weeks.
Buying locally also reduces food miles and the stages in the food chain from fork to plate. It puts money back into the local rural economy thereby sustaining and creating jobs.
A Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs report published in 2005 highlights the problem of "food miles" clocked up from both home-grown and overseas goods, and the impact this has on our environment. Figures available suggest ten million tonnes of carbon dioxide were produced in the UK from transporting food by road and rail.
Fresh food goldmine
People tend to assume that because of their massive buying power, supermarkets will beat independent shops on price. This can be the case with popular brands of processed food and drink, but the opposite is often true of fresh, unprocessed food.
Few supermarket shoppers crosscheck prices with small, independent shops, but a trip to a greengrocer, butcher, fishmonger or market stall can be a revelation. Swop your fresh food shopping to the independent sector and you can expect to save anything from 20% to 40%.
Incidentally, you may have noticed that when one supermarket chain brags about its cheap prices, it will make a comparison with a competitor chain - not with independent fresh food shops. That's because in these key fresh food categories, supermarkets are nearly always pricier than traditional High Street shops.
Extract from www.Thisismoney.com - Sly tricks of the supermarkets
"we grow it, we sell it"
As usual, there are three golden rules that should apply to a genuine Farmers' Market. They are:
1. Producers must be local, defined as within a specified radius of the market site (normally 30 miles)
2. Producers must sell their own produce. All secondary produce should contain local ingredients where appropriate
3. The person behind the stall must be the producers, a close family member or an employee directly involved with production, allowing you to ask questions about how it was produced. Try it - they know their onions!
So you know the food you are buying at our market are always fresh