I am so grateful that The Two EE’s Farm Market in Surrey is a ten minute drive from my house. Organic produce and fruit, grown on the farm without sprays or chemicals are sold at reasonable prices, along with food from mostly local growers.

I arrive near closing time and a young man on the roof is packing away the Dutch and Canadian flags for the evening.

The market’s name comes from the initials of the two original owners prior to World War II – Emil and Elizabeth Kowalski. A Dutchman bought the land from them in 1960. His son-in-law, Henk Shoen from The Netherlands, worked the land along with his family, and now his son Mike and his family continue to work the land and sell the produce, along with many long term employees.

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” Hippocrates

The farm has maintained the original aura of a roadside fruit stand for 57 years. Upscale farm markets are cropping up in the surrounding area faster than townhouse developments, but their produce doesn’t compare to The Two EE’s.

They have a photo wall of the family history of the market.

The market is a throwback. It is still closed on Sundays, as were all of BC’s major stores until the early 1980’s. British Columbians would cross the US border to shop on Sundays in those days. America is a ten minute drive in the opposite direction from my house.

(You can see Mount Baker near Bellingham, Washington USA, peeking out above the greehouse).

Note – (not a rendering of Canada’s view if Trump builds his wall.)

In the summer, cool water mists down from the outside vegetable and flower bin areas to cool the produce and the crowd of shoppers.

Crops like carrots and swiss chard are grown outside the market and in greenhouses as far as the eye can see.

Then they are freshly picked and sold inside

I buy fresh local strawberries at the market.

Winona kindly rings them up at the till.

I ask her if she is a member of the family, and she says “no, but a lot of people ask me that”.

That’s the family atmosphere at The Two EE’s.

The market is a labour of love.

Love for:

health

family

the air

the land

animals

and future generations.

I have a garden at home in case I can’t make it to my beloved farm market.

It’s a lot smaller than the 25 acre farm, but it’s a start.

The more people grow and buy organic, the more organic growers there will be.