Change of schedule at the Rouyn-Noranda public market this summer

The coordinator of the Rouyn-Noranda public market, Julie Gauthier, explains that the lack of manpower could have jeopardized the proper functioning of the activity, which motivated the change of schedule.

The installation of all these kiosks, finding the workforce to be there at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday mornings to set up and take down the market during the day was increasingly difficult in terms of recruiting the labor and volunteersshe says.

The Board of Directors hopes that this schedule will be more attractive for hiring students.

It was not an easy decision for the board of directors of the Rouyn-Noranda public marketconcedes Julie Gauthier.

However, the SADC de Rouyn-Noranda wishes to reach a clientele that is not available on weekends. Madeleine Olivier, from the Nordvie farm, has the same hope.

I like going to test on a weekday because what we see in Rouyn-Noranda is that there are a lot of people on weekends who are not in Rouyn-Noranda, who are either at their house outside [de la ville] or at the cottage. Yes, we have loyal customers who are there every weekend, but that does not represent the full potential of Rouyn-Norandashe points out.

Madeleine Olivier adds that this will also allow her to work on the farm on Saturdays.

The Rouyn-Noranda public market will be open from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Place de la Citoyenneté.

Élyse Ouellet, from the Confiserie des Collines, thinks it would have been easier for workers to go to the market if it had been open at noon.

All those who go to eat at noon in the city center, especially since the city center is pedestrianized, I would like them to be able to pick up their fruits and vegetables, but if it opens at 2 p.m., it is those who are on vacation who will have the best choice for fruits and vegetablesshe says.

On the other hand, Élyse Ouellet also sees advantages in this change of schedule.

For those who are from outside and who drive 1 hour, when it opens at 9am, they have to leave very early […] Let it open at 2 p.m., it gives them a breakshe points out.

However, for Boréalait, it will be impossible to be present every week at the Rouyn-Noranda market, because their truck delivers on Wednesdays.

I find myself with nothing to refrigerate my products and I can’t drag a refrigerator. It’s really a matter of logisticsexplains Évelyne Rancourt, owner of Boréalait.

Work-family balance

Kamylle Béchard-Plourde, from the Tomates et Camomille farm and who also sits on the board of directors of the Rouyn-Noranda public market, agrees with Madeleine Olivier and believes that families with busy schedules will prefer to come to the market on Wednesday.

She believes that citizens will have enough time to get there.

If I do the comparison with my distribution of baskets […] last year, it was exactly my date, Wednesdays between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. and it didn’t often happen that families couldn’t pick up the basket because they put it on their schedule and often it’s after work, they will pass and it’s doneshe says.

However, Kamylle Béchard-Plourde reports that the board of directors will be ready to adjust the hours if it is found that this schedule is not suitable.

Registration is not yet complete, but if we rely on figures from previous years, we should find between 18 and 24 kiosks per market.