EGGS EGGS EGGS

We've got several farmers who bring eggs on both Saturday and Sunday, and even a few young agrarians that you'll find on Sunday as part of the Kids Market, selling local eggs.

Top 5 reasons to buy local eggs

1.  You're getting the freshest eggs possible
2.  The chickens who laid the eggs are happy, free ranging chickens
3.  They taste better.  Farm fresh eggs have a more buttery flavour when cooked
4.  You're supporting a local farmer, a local family, a local business and keeping your money local
5.  You get to enjoy local eggs without having to shovel manure!

There's a lot that goes into farming, and while pictures can be beautiful and the notion of raising your own animals can be romanticized, there's a huge commitment that goes along with it too.  Chickens need a place to live, a place to roam - but not too far, a place to sleep, they need daily care including food and water, they need to be protected from predators and they need a nice clean, cozy place to lay eggs oh, and a nice dry dusty place to bathe.   Eggs then need to be collected, washed and finally put into lovely egg cartons to protect them.  I happen to like the option of supporting local farmers, leaving the eggs to the eggsperts.

Did you know that chickens in Europe are inoculated against salmonella and that's why it's quite common for Europeans to leave their eggs on the counter, unrefrigerated.   Cooler temperatures keep salmonella from growing so storing eggs in the fridge in North America is quite common since we don't inoculate our chickens.

You may be wondering:  what's so great about local eggs?  Well we've got a lot to boast about in Powell River.  To date we (as a city) have been salmonella free.  That means when you buy eggs from a local farmer, they're from local, happy, free running chickens.  Farmers are able to keep tight control over their broods so they know what they're offering you at the market is the best they have.  They are staking their reputation on it.   When eggs are consolidated from multiple farms for mass distribution it becomes a lot harder to manage controls on the quality and trace back outbreaks.  We're so grateful we don't have to worry about that here!

Join us at the market, add eggs to your "Shop Local First"  shopping list.  Need a splash of colour, just add some of these lovely vegetables to your list too.