Linking local food producers and consumers

My local farmers’ market, St. Andrew’s, is organized by Farmers’ Markets Ontario, who do everything from certifying that the farmers are only selling what they produce, to being onsite on market day to help with logistics. They’re supported by several of us on a volunteer local advisory group: we also help on market day, staff the information booth, and are responsible for publicizing the market in the community.

I’ve found a number of other sites that focus on building the links between local food producers and consumers:

• FoodShare, focusing on the entire system that puts food on our tables: from the growing, processing and distribution of food to its purchasing, cooking and consumption
• Local Food Plus, certifying farmers and processors and linking them with local purchasers
• Slow Food Toronto, building food community networks that include producers, artisans, chefs, food activists, youth leadership, and co-producers/consumers
• Not Far From The Tree, a residential fruit-picking program that harvests fruit from trees that would otherwise go to waste, and divides it evenly between the tree owner, the volunteer pickers, and community organizations

There are many more local food related sites, plus many people on Twitter discussing the same issues; since I joined the market advisory board, the number that I’m aware of grows each day. You can follow me on Twitter, masquerading as St. Andrew’s market, @standrewsmarket, where I provide market updates and retweet some of the other local food twitterers.

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