Celebrating the Women Growing Our Food
As Vancouver Farmers Markets marks another July anniversary, we’re also celebrating the United Nations’ International Year of the Woman Farmer and the vital role women play in building resilient local food systems.
Every July, Vancouver Farmers Markets celebrates another year of bringing local food and communities together. It’s an opportunity to reflect on the people who grow our food here in BC and make our markets possible.
This year, VFM’s anniversary coincides with another milestone. The United Nations has declared 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer, acknowledging the essential and often under-recognized role women play in agriculture and agrifood systems around the world.
At Vancouver Farmers Markets, this recognition feels especially meaningful.
As a farmers-first organization, our markets exist to support the people who grow, raise and produce food in British Columbia. Among our primary producer members, almost 50% are women-owned or women-led farms and agricultural businesses. Every week, they bring fresh vegetables and fruit, flowers, honey, cheese, meat and countless other products directly from their farms to our markets.
Their work is as diverse as the province itself, but they share a common commitment: stewarding the land, feeding their communities and strengthening BC’s local food system.
More than recognition
The International Year of the Woman Farmer isn’t simply about celebrating women in agriculture. It’s also about recognizing the challenges many continue to face and the opportunities that exist when those barriers are reduced.
Around the world, women are involved in every part of agrifood systems. They are farmers, producers, processors, beekeepers, seed keepers, innovators, entrepreneurs and market vendors. Yet they often have less access to land, financing, training, markets and decision-making opportunities than their male counterparts.
Closing those gaps doesn’t only benefit women, it strengthens food systems as a whole.
Research consistently shows that when women have equitable opportunities to participate in agriculture, communities benefit through improved food security, greater dietary diversity, stronger local economies and more resilient households.
Why farmers markets matter
One of the most powerful ways to support women in agriculture is by creating direct pathways between farmers and the people they feed.
Farmers Markets do that part.
By shortening the distance between producer and shopper, farmers markets allow farmers to sell directly, build lasting customer relationships and retain a greater share of every food dollar. For many small-scale farms, this creates opportunities to grow sustainable businesses while remaining connected to their communities.
For women farmers, these spaces can offer even broader benefits.
Farmers markets can become places to build professional networks, develop leadership, gain business experience and connect with training, mentorship and community support. Around the world, organizations working with farmers markets are increasingly recognizing the role of farmers markets as platforms for women’s economic empowerment, entrepreneurship and participation in local food systems.
Every market purchase helps strengthen these opportunities.
Growing stronger communities together
Behind every market day are countless early mornings, changing weather, long harvests and years of dedication. Farming is rarely the work of one person alone. Many farms are family-run businesses built through partnerships, shared responsibilities and generations of knowledge.
This July, we’re proud to celebrate the women whose expertise, resilience and leadership continue to shape agriculture in British Columbia, while recognizing everyone who contributes to growing local food.
As shoppers, we often see only the final step in that journey, which is a table filled with fresh produce and the person standing behind it.
This month, we invite you to pause a little longer.
Ask questions. Learn the stories behind your food. Meet the women growing, raising and producing it. Every conversation builds connection, and every purchase helps strengthen local farms, resilient food systems and the communities they nourish.
Happy birthday to Vancouver Farmers Markets! And here’s to the women farmers at our markets and beyond.
