Sorauren Park Farmers' Market

Location

Established: 2008
Days and Times of Operation: Mondays 3pm-7pm
Market Manager: Ayal Dinner
Administered by: Graeme Hussey, Ayal Dinner
Website: www.westendfood.coop

History & Profile of Market:

The Market is a project of the West End Food Coop (WEFC), a multi-stakeholder co-operative committed to the development of community food culture in Toronto's West End. The Market provides a way to connect with people in the community and act as a catalyst for other WEFC-led food security projects, including the development of a local food grocery store. Apart from the opportunity to buy food that is not jet lagged, and to talk to the producer, the Market seeks to raise awareness of local food issues through neighbourhood engagement and education events at the market, a local food blog, and a weekly market newsletter.

Number of Vendors: 15-20

Vendor Profiles : The recipe in mind was a wide diversity of farm fresh produce and other products that are either 'certified organic', are produced using organic methods, or that adhere to sustainable farming standards for the community. We wanted to offer a full range of local and organic food following the principle the closer the better. We felt that a good selection of prepared foods featuring locally-grown and processed ingredients was important for residents and families who want a healthy dinner option while attending soccer games that are taking place in the park in the first weeks of the market season. At the same time we were committed to working with farmers and organizations such as FarmStart to develop a market that promotes new farmers and small, local and sustainable producers. This meant moving away from a fully certified organic market, because such a market would for example have meant turning away new farmers that have not been able to receive organic certification, as well as urban farmers and wild food crafters, who usually can't receive certification despite adhering to or even exceeding organic standards. Acknowledging the importance of rigorous regulations, to ensure that imported fruits and vegetables would not be bought at the Ontario Food Terminal and passed off at farmers' markets as local produce, we created our own set of vendor guidelines. Market strategy - The Sorauren Farmers' Market is a market of local producers who follow sustainable or organic practices. We also consider wild foods for the market. The share of vendors adhering to non-certified sustainable farming standards will be limited to 20% of the market participants. Certification- Where organic certification is not given, a statement of farming practice is required. Absolutely no GMO produce or products are allowed. We encourage vendors to seek Local Food Plus Certification. Third-Party Products - The Market is producer-focused; hence, only applicants offering goods for sale, which they have produced themselves will be considered. However, a limited number of products that cannot be grown in Ontario will be considered for sale at the market. But these will only be regarded if the vendor has substantial input in the preparation/creation and/or direct, fair trade links to the producers. Additionally, a producer may sell additional produce grown by a relative, a neighbour farmer or an approved association. We opted for a 70/30 rule meaning that up to 30 percent of what a farmer sells can come from a neighbour, which still prevents resellers but helps farmers cut down on transportation and labour costs. Prepared Food – prepared food vendors commit to using a majority of local, organic and fair trade products for their preparation. Greenbelt - As part of our commitment to local food, preference was also given to Green-belt farmers. The result - not a market that meets full organic criteria, but one with around 20 vendors depending on the time of the season, more than half of which are farmers in order to meet Farmers Markets Ontario requirements for membership. As Graeme put it "certification sometimes just complicates things" and the main point for farmers' markets should be to be able to talk with the vendors and buy directly from people you trust.

Product Highlights: many! wild blueberries, grass fed beef, basil, cinnamon pesto, tomatoes, local sweet potatoes and okara, local calzones, raw crackers, purslane, colourful chard...depending on what's in season locally