St. Andrews Farmers’ Market – coming soon (we hope)

I’m very excited to be part of something that happening in my neighbourhood: the opening of a new farmers’ market at Maud and Adelaide, in the Queen West area of Toronto. Opening day will be Saturday, June 6th, with the market running every Saturday from 9am-1pm until October 31st. This will be the fifth of the MyMarket markets, which are certified as genuine farmer’s markets by Farmers’ Markets Ontario: that means that FMO checks to make sure that the farmers at the markets actually grow everything that they are selling, and aren’t just buying cheaper produce from the food terminal and reselling it at a cute kiosk.

I went to the initial meeting that was held to gauge interest in a local market, and joined the advisory committee so have been involved in planning some of the community support around the market. FMO actually does most of the work: they get the farmers, plan out the site, provide the canopies, provide marketing and logistical support of all sorts, and have a market manager there to make sure that everything runs smoothly. The advisory committee, made up of those of us who live in the area and want to participate in making the market a success, looks after getting the community on board, doing local advertising/awareness, and staffing an information booth at the market as well as helping out with special events.

There are so many great reasons to support a local farmers’ market:

• The produce is the freshest possible, probably picked within the previous 24 hours. That means better tasting fruits and vegetables that ripen on the vine rather than on a truck.
• All of the farmers are (relatively) local, since they’re not driving more than a couple of hours to get to the market. That means a lower carbon footprint since all the produce travels a minimum distance to market. Also on the “save the planet” side is the fact that this brings a market within walking distance for many people (like me) who might have driven to a grocery store instead.
• You buy directly from the farmers rather than through multiple distribution layers. That means that the farmers get a fair price for their goods, which is good for the economy.

This won’t necessarily be the cheapest alternative: you can walk up Spadina and find cheaper fruits and vegetables, but those probably originated thousands of miles away and are past their prime. What you will find at the farmers’ market is great, fresh, local products, and you can feel good about helping the planet and the local farming economy by buying from them.

If you’re interested in more information, there’s a Facebook group, you can email the advisory committee to be put on the mailing list or get involved in the advisory committee, and I’ve started a Twitter account for the market that I’ll update regularly once things get rolling.

Tags: farmers market