Marchés d’Ici Earth Market in Val-David

The Marché d’ici is located in Val-David in Quebec, Canada. Val-David is a small municipality of less than 6000 inhabitants, about 80 km north of Montreal.
In Canada, the Marchés d’ici network is a rare example of direct selling. Today, the level of awareness has increased throughout Québec (proof of this is that more and more new public markets are being set up), but the Marchés d’ici network started in 2000 as a pioneer project.

Les Marchés d’ici are committed to the growth of farms and agricultural activities in Quebec and wish to contribute to the influence of Quebec’s agri-food heritage by currently developing six public markets: Val-David, Sainte-Marguerite-du- Lac-Masson, City of Mount-Royal, Mont-Saint-Hilaire and Lac-Brome. Marchés d’ici has also become a real incubator for local small businesses, providing start-up support. Small businesses can benefit from technical and professional training and careful follow-up at subsidised rates.

The Val-David Market, Earth Market since May 2022, was founded in 2013 and has become a local landmark not only for shopping but also for meeting people. Cooking workshops for children and adults are organised during the summer season. The role of the market today is to inform and give educational tools to customers to better understand the factors that can affect the production of small local farmers: time, soil, labour.
Val-David’s Marché de la Terre project is developed in collaboration with Slow Food Montreal.

Les Marchés d’ici is a recognised NGO entirely dedicated to the development and promotion of Quebec’s agri-food heritage. After obtaining non-profit status and launching the market, the municipality of Val-David and Mouvement coopératif Desjardins joined the project and contributed to its financial maintenance, as well as facilitating the participation of producers by arranging the rental of space and kiosks. The local supermarket provides the stalls for the market.
The market benefits from some subsidies from various governmental, provincial and regional programmes.
Marchés d’ici is a member of the Association des Marchés publics du Québec. It receives support through market management tools, training and conferences.

Marchés d’ici Val-David came into being thanks to the voluntary work and total commitment of its sponsors, supported by a committed and motivated team, the resourcefulness of its producers and the loyalty of its customers.
The Marchés d’ici network encourages ecological and responsible behaviour, the pursuit of quality and variety, following an approach that respects biodiversity. There are around 20 small direct producers in Val-David, many of them certified organic.

The market offers the possibility of eating on site, thanks to the multicultural gastronomic offer proposed by exhibitors from the local communities.
For several years, recycling of waste, rational use of means of production and sharing of resources have been at the centre of the sales activities. For the past three years, plastic bags have been banned from the market and customers are invited to bring their own containers and bags.

For more information:

Website
marchesdici.org

Social
www.facebook.com/marchesdici
www.instagram.com/marchesdici