Blyth Community market opens online storefront

BY DENNY SCOTT

The Blyth Community Market, formerly known as the Blyth Outdoor Market, has officially moved online for the winter season and Blyth Business Improvement Area (BIA) Chair David Sparling is   pleased about the move.

The market, which is now an independent organization, began as a BIA initiative. It is now handled by a board of vendors who, with the support of Community Futures Huron, has launched a website to allow for weekly orders to be placed which will then be available for pick-up at the Blyth Christian Reformed Church. “It’s a neat development,” Sparling said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sparling said that organizations like Community Futures Huron and Huron County Economic Development have risen to the challenge of supporting local businesses. He said that Community Futures Huron had found a way to support the market going online with both funding and staff resources.

“They’re finding ways to help businesses cope, and adapt and come out [as strong] or stronger than when they went into the pandemic,” Sparling said. “Kudos to those two groups for their work to help businesses get through.”

Sparling explained that people will be able to order online from not only vendors that had traditionally been part of the market, but from others that have joined the online market as well.

“That’s pretty cool and a big win,” he said. “Vendors can sell over the winter, which is a big win for Blyth. The ultimate aim of this program was to make sure vendors are viable over the winter to increase the odds of them being back.”

A full list of the vendors is available online and it includes:

• Bushy’s Local Salsa

• Foodie Momma

• Bayfield Maple

• Martin’s Home Baking

• Culture Shock Kombucha

• Shopbike Coffee

• Huron Commodities Inc.

• Bayfield Berry Farm

• CedarVilla Angus Farm

• Grand Bend Village Farmers’ Market

• Blyth Community Market

• Chez Alis (Alice’s Place)

• Petojo Food and Catering

• Smokey Hollow Farm

• Homemade Pierogi

• Forest Hill Orchard.

For more information, visit openfoodnetwork.ca/blyth-community-market/shop.