Todd Bell is now in his 39th year selling fruits, vegetables, and other fresh produce from B&B Fruit Stand, which has been located for the past few years at 432 High Street West, in the parking lot between Water Vision Pool & Spas and Fine Line Builders.
"When I first started, my very first year, I had a partner, and his last name started with a 'B' as well, so that's where the name comes from," Bell explained. "That [partnership] only lasted a year, but I kept the name."
Bell has been running his fruit stand since his uncle, who owned an orchard in B.C., began looking for new ways to sell his produce. He said he's been dealing with the same producers, and mostly the same families, ever since. That's allowed him to keep the timeline of his produce, from harvest to seller to customer, at less than a week for most items — even when he has to source from the US.
"The vegetables I'll get local when they're available, and mainly out of B.C. as far as fruit goes," he said, "except at this time of year, obviously nothing is ready up here, so it's all out of California for now.
"I'm not knocking the grocery stores, but they have to go through a long chain of command, and warehouses and distribution centres, so that typically takes a while."
Bell said the local Saskatchewan Hutterite colonies are some of his best suppliers. The Hutterite colonies produce large amounts of fresh vegetables, and even put out some more cold-hardy fruit varieties, such as watermelon and Saskatoon berries.
One of his greatest enjoyments after his decades operating his stand is seeing multiple generations coming to B&B Fruit Stand.
"When I started, if a 40-year-old were coming to the stand with their 10-year-old or however old they are, well at this point I'm probably into the third generation of customers," Bell smiled. "Yeah, I get lots of girls and guys coming down, and they're in their 40s now, and they'll say, 'I remember when I was seven or eight, coming out here with mom and dad!' Which is really nice."
Surprisingly, he related, he still occasionally meets people who have lived in Moose Jaw their whole lives and are visiting his stand for the first time.
Bell currently has a substantial selection of fresh fruit including mangoes, kiwis, strawberries, green grapes, and apples — again, although they are from California, they are less than a week off of their vine or tree or bush — and a good selection of local vegetables. He carries other goods, too, such as fresh honey from Moose Javian producer Bar over HC apiaries.
As the season advances, expect fresh rotations of fruit and veg as harvests come in, and a steady selection of staples from farther-flung suppliers. Bell is at his stand every day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The B&B Fruit Stand Facebook page is active with updates, so be sure to give Bell a follow to stay in the loop: facebook.com/BBfruitstand.
