SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Despite forest fires and the challenge of maintaining vendors, the Yellowknife Farmers Market brought in more than $275,000 in revenue during the 2014 season - with an estimated economic impact of just under $1 million for the city.

The 2014 Yellowknife Farmers Market annual report shows that the average weekly revenue of the Tuesday night market was more than $17,000. - NNSL file photo

"At the end of every market, the market manager goes around and each vendor writes on a piece of paper their gross sales, and that's how we come up with this figure - it's all anonymous," said France Benoit, chair of the Yellowknife Farmers' Market.

According to the 2014 Yellowknife Farmers Market annual report, the market saw an average of $17,497 in weekly sales over the 16-week season. A study produced for Farmers' Markets Ontario - which the local organization has been in contact with - suggests that every dollar spent at a farmers market circulates within that community 3.24 times -- in other words, offers an economic multiplier of 3.24.

Whether a produce, prepared food or dry-good vendor, Benoit said this economic multiplier accounts for both the money spent within the city to produce the saleable goods, and how money made off of those goods is spent afterwards.

In Yellowknife, the economic multiplier factored into the sales average over the 16-week season showed an injection of $907,044 into the local economy.

While the market has a measurable impact across the city, the report also shows that a rather specific demographic was showing up to the market every Tuesday night.

An online survey of customers saw the vast majority of respondents were between 30 and 39 years old, with 65 per cent of them reporting a household income of between $100,000 and $200,000.

The fact is, shopping at the market isn't cheap - and for good reason.

Despite the city offering the market relief on its rental fee for Somba K'e Civic Plaza, the Yellowknife market will be seeing some of the highest rental fees among markets in Canada in the coming years - according to the report.

In order to give the market an initial boost, the city is charging only a percentage of the total rental cost for the space, for the first five years. The market is entering its third year.

No rental fees were charged for the first operating season, followed by 20 per cent of the actual cost in the second year at $500, and 40 per cent of the cost this year. Benoit said this will amount to $1,500 for the season this year. The cost will continue to increase by 20 per cent up until 2017.

Going into its second year, the market board voted to increase membership and vendors to cover the rental cost increase, although Benoit said the fees did not increase again for the 2015 season.

While other markets, the Fireweed Market in Whitehorse for example, are funded by as much as half through grants, Benoit said the Yellowknife market remains largely supported by its revenue.

"We're operating mainly on our own," said Benoit. "We've got some grants but the grants are not directly necessarily attached to operation of the market."

For example, Benoit said one grant is designated for work on food security projects, which is one of the objectives of the market society.

It is also, she said, one issue that is largely impacted by the success of the farmers market.

"The more we can produce our own food here, that's the larger picture because we tend to think of food security often in terms of low-income people and families, but in fact we are all to a certain extent food insecure in Yellowknife, if you think of last year and the forest fires," said Benoit.

"Anything we can produce here locally, within the Northwest Territories, is helping all Yellowknifers."

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.