Royal City Farmers Market is paying tribute to a woman who was at the forefront of the organic movement.
The market has renamed its $500 Royal City Farmers Market bursary to the Forstbauer Memorial Bursary in honour of Mary Forstbauer, a Chilliwack farmer dubbed the “grandmama of organics in British Columbia” for pioneering organic farming in B.C. long before it was cool.
“She raised the profile of the organic industry,” daughter Natalie said in a press release. “She brought farmers together, period, whether they were organic or not.”
Forstbauer, a mother of 12 and grandmother to 37, passed away on Oct. 30, 2015.
Forstbauer was a fixture at the Royal City Farmers Market, where she sold zucchinis, carrots and greens.
According to a Royal City Farmers Market press release, Forstbauer’s produce brought people to her booth, but her warm, welcoming smile kept them there.
“Mary was a treasure of a vendor for RCFM, and it is to her credit that we experienced success in those crucial first few years,” said Jen Arbo, member at large. “Mary was thoughtful, enthusiastic, and so very generous with her expertise and time.”
Melissa Maltais, operations manager of the farmers market, said Forstbauer’s death has left a hole in the market.
“To have Mary at your farmers’ market was like a stamp of approval – she was the farmers’ market,” she said in a news release.
The Forstbauer Memorial Bursary will be given out to New Westminster Secondary School graduates who are going into agriculture or environmental studies.
