About Us

The Withrow Park Farmers' Market is administered by a volunteer market committee that consists of neighbours and regular park and area users, the market co-ordinator, and/or the on-site market manager.

The market is a place for Ontario farmers using organic and ecological production methods, as well as producers of organic prepared foods, to sell their products directly to the consumer.

Beyond History

Withrow started with a pilot special market day event in September 2006, and was received with overwhelming enthusiasm by the public and vendors. Since then, the market has gone through some changes, and there has been great interest by various community members across Toronto to start markets in their own neighbourhoods, but with the local food boom comes a number of challenges.

Some of these challenges are easier to work out than others, but one that is very slow to solve, is the small number of organic or ecological farmers who are willing or able to bring their produce to the city. One of the challenges cited mostly by those farmers is the distance they would have to travel and the cost of gas. Another challenge is also that the number of farms in Ontario is still decreasing, and programs for growing new farmers are still very young.

Toronto is fortunate to have its own little microclimate, which is great for growing vegetables and fruit, but because of its magnificent sprawl the nearest farms are approximately 1-2 hours' travel from our urban plates. This travel time has to be absorbed by farmers, and we are very grateful to those who are getting up before the crack of dawn to bring their produce to Withrow.

Over the last decade (or less) Toronto eaters have been educated about food miles, the association between CO2 and global climate change in relation to long distance produce, and the importance of organic food production. We have learned to associate organic food sources with environmental and personal health, and locally grown produce with less CO2 in the atmosphere, and we are learning that farmers' markets can offer the best of both worlds, and that a choice between organic or local does not always need to be made, because we can have both. We rarely speak about freshness of locally produced foods, but the reality is that buying fresh produce from an organic farmers' market is the next best thing to growing your own.

What does organic agriculture mean? On the smaller production scale that most of our farmers operate on, organic cultivation doesn't mean only no pesticides and herbicides used on the plants and in the soil, but it means the building of a healthy growing environment for plants from the ground up, and the use of policultures. The main principle of organic agriculture is that if the soil is healthy and nutrient rich, the plants will be healthy and nutrient rich as well. The nutrients absorbed by the plants from the soil make it into the "fruit", and by extension into our tummies, especially if the food travels short distances. Growing policultures (multiple varieties of plants mixed in a field) as opposed to monocultures (acres and acres of the same crop that offers no barriers to insects or diseases), supports biodiversity and avoids potential pest or disease problems.

We don't often hear that shopping at farmers' markets ensures fair trade relationships between producers and eaters. The money spent at the market is being reinvested in the local economy, and the bucks spent on local produce ensures a fair wage for the producers, although it is often mind-boggling how little farmers sometimes charge for the fruits of their labour. In North America we are used to fairly cheap foods, which is very unrealistic, and if you are a gardener, you will understand. Spending hours or days on preparing the soil for planting, starting seeds, or even just transplanting seedlings into the field, is a huge amount of backbreaking labour. Add to that the cultivation (like weeding, irrigation, organic pest controls), harvesting, cleaning, transportation, marketing, selling, preparing... of the harvest, and you are looking at much more than an 8 hour work day. So for those still wondering about the price of food, ask yourself how much your body and time and skills are worth to you, and translate that to (organic) farming (which is a skill intensive occupation).

We are just starting to speak about the importance of supporting your neighbourhood farmers' market. If you have seen "Field of Dreams", the baseball movie starring Kevin Costner, you may remember the phrase "if you build it, they will come." Of course, that may work for a baseball field full of ghosts, but when it comes to small farmers' markets that have sprung out of a local grassroots movement, it's a bit trickier. Many young markets experience a chicken and egg phenomenon. It consists of the following: shoppers want a diversity of product, but vendors won't come unless they are guaranteed a large enough customer base. What we've figured out is that the best remedy to this conundrum is time: small and new community supported markets need the patience and the faith of both market patrons and vendors to make a neighbourhood market a special place that delivers a unique food experience.

The Withrow Park Farmers' Market operates mainly as a non-profit community venture. Our biggest interest is to give farmers an opportunity to secure a livelihood, and for eaters to get access to some real food. We are slowly building relationships that will help anchor the market in its community, and we thank all our partners, farmers, vendors, and of course market patrons who share in our vision for a strong local food system and vibrant communities.

Our past and present organizational and business partners include: FoodShare Toronto, Projects for Public Spaces, City of Toronto: Parks, Forestry and Recreation, Toronto Transit Commission, Councillor Paula Fletcher, Carrot Cache, Toronto Farmers' Market Network, Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, Canadian Organic Growers (Toronto Chapter), Ralph Thornton Centre, Riverdale Food Working Group, The Cook's Place, Book City (Danforth), Treasure Island Toys, Toronto Public Library (Pape branch).

If you are a farmer or prepared food vendor, please see our guidelines below.

2009 Vendor Guidelines You can order the vendor application form by sending an e-mail to info(at)withrowpark(dot)ca, or call 416-461-2825.

The Withrow Park Farmers’ Market has been created to connect Ontario farmers and producers of specialty food items with consumers in a direct exchange.

All produce, food items and other goods sold at the market have to be certified organic or ecologically and sustainably produced. Please note that at no time Genetically Modified Organisms of any kind are allowed for sale at the market, including as ingredients in prepared foods.

Market Location and Hours

This is an open air seasonal market. The first market day is on May 24, and the last on October 25, 2008.

Location: Withrow Park, Toronto, one block south of Danforth Avenue, between Logan Avenue and Carlaw Avenue

Market Hours: Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. , set-up starts at 8 a.m.; sales are not permitted before 9 a.m.!

Fees: In addition to the stall fee, vendors are required to pay an annual $25 membership fee on their first market day. This fee is used to help with seasonal start-up costs, and guarantees you a spot in the market. For the remainder of the season, a $25 stall fee (for a 10’ x 10’ area) will be collected during market hours, and a receipt issued. If the vendor requires more space, an additional $5 charge per table will be applied.

Parking: Vehicle access to the site is allowed during set-up and take-down only. Vehicles can park for free in the adjacent Holy Name Catholic School parking lot on a first come first served basis.

New vendors are required to submit an application form; returning vendors will be admitted to the new market season by the on-site market manager or market organizer by invitation only. This is a producer only market. Any resale that may occur has to abide by the guidelines listed in this document, and is at the discretion of the market management.

Due to the lack of storage facilities, vendors are responsible for bringing their own tables and/or chairs, and weather protection.

The Market is coordinated through the Withrow Park Farmers’ Market Committee and administered through the market manager and/or market organizer.

The market manager, market organizer and committee members reserve the right to visit farmers and other market vendors during the season, in order to inform themselves about food production, processing and cultivation practices.

In the spirit of cooperation and respect, any conflicts that arise in the market will be dealt with in a timely and fair manner, with the objective to reach a mutually agreeable solution. However, the market manager and/or market organizer has the right to dismiss a vendor from the market, should he/she fail to comply with market guidelines, or prove disruptive to a positive market environment.

In the case that no satisfactory and mutually agreeable solution can be reached, the matter may proceed before the market committee.

Market management has the right to change and amend market guidelines as necessary.

GENERAL MARKET GUIDELINES

Although the primary directive of the market is to connect urban eaters with local farmers and food producers, we want to encourage other forms of local economic development. To support local farmers, and to keep in line with the goal to have as high a content of local ingredients as possible, we encourage makers of processed and/or value added foods to purchase, whenever possible, local produce offered by farmers at the market for the manufacture of their value added goods.

Waste Management

The market is striving towards a zero waste environment, and all vendors are asked to leave the park area as clean as possible, and take any refuse with them. The garbage and recycling bins on site are reserved for customers and other park users.

Vehicle Access

Vehicles are allowed in the park during unloading and loading times only, and have to be accompanied by a designated individual during entering and exiting in order to ensure that there are no incidents between the vehicles and park users, animals, or Parks property. Vehicles have to remain on the paved driveways at all times. Free parking is available on residential streets surrounding Withrow Park, and in the Holy Name Catholic School parking lot on a first come first served basis.

Vendors have to be ready to sell for 9 a.m. (no sales before this time are allowed), and must remain open until 1 p.m. unless sold out.

FRESH PRODUCE (including flowers and seeds)

To reduce direct and destructive competition amongst vendors, priority will be given to vendors who are growing their own produce for sale. Once the primary producer has sold out, other vendors can start selling theirs. If two vendors want to sell the same produce, no distress or competitive pricing is permitted.

Farmers are allowed to sell 30% of produce from other local sources in the following circumstances:

1) The market vendor is a grower/farmer who grows his/her produce on land owned by him/her or under his/her direct cultivation. He/she can purchase produce not cultivated on the farm from local certified organic, transitional or eco-farms, located in his/her own respective community or neighbourhood;

2) The vendor is a member of a farmers’ co-operative, in which case the market management requires a list of all the members of the co-operative and their produce/product, and requests that individual co-op members attend the market at least once during the season.

3) The vendor is a farmer him/herself, but is also assisting a particular community that cannot access the market due to special circumstances (i.e. as in the case of Old Order Mennonites who use horses and carts for travel and transportation, in which case members of that community are required to attend the Market at least once during the season);

4) The market manager/organizer may ask a farmer to find a local source of a particular produce for sale at the market if it is currently not cultivated by any of the farmers, but is in high demand by customers.

CERTIFICATION

All vendors are encouraged to acquire organic certification, but the market will accept applications from farmers who are also non-certified organic growers, and who can demonstrate the use of ecological cultivation, pest and disease management practices, as well as growers transitioning from conventional to organic agriculture.

In case no organic certification has been obtained, vendors are required to provide detailed information about their cultivation methods in the form of written documentation. If you are an organic certified member, we encourage you to display your certification document.

To stimulate consumer interest, and to maintain a large degree of product variety and to reduce competition between vendors, the market management strongly encourages the cultivation of heirloom and unusual fruits and vegetables, as well as produce commonly used in a variety of ethnic cuisines.

MEAT, EGGS AND DAIRY

Eggs

The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) requires “that all eggs retailed beyond the farm gate be graded”.

A listing of federally approved grading stations can be found at http://www.agr.gc.ca/misb/aisd/poultry/esta-entr_egr_e.htm. Alternatively additional Ministry information can be obtained by calling 1-888-466-2372 ext. 64230.

Any Market vendor selling eggs to the public has to raise the poultry laying the eggs him- or herself under humane and preferably free-range conditions. Eggs can only be re-sold if the vendor is a member of a farmers’ co-operative, or the eggs belong in the 30% portion of a farmer’s/vendor’s product mix, and then only if they originate from a regional farm that fits the specified requirements. ''' Dairy Products'''

Producers of dairy products (such as yoghurt and artisan cheeses) have to demonstrate either that the milk used for the production of cheeses and other dairy items are made either from the milk of cows, sheep or goats raised on a farm directly under the vendor’s ownership and/or management/cultivation, or that the milk has been obtained from regional and organic sources. The dairy products have to be manufactured in a licensed plant, and the animals have to be raised in humane/cruelty free and preferably free-range and/or grass-fed conditions.

Information on regulations for the manufacture, handling and sale of dairy products can be found at http://www.gov.on.ca/ont/portal/!ut/p/.cmd/cs/.ce/7_0_A/.s/7_0_252/_s.7_0_A/7_0_252/_l/en?docid=053036

Meat

“In Ontario, no one can sell, transport, deliver or distribute meat unless:

 The animal was inspected prior to slaughter (antemortem), approval for slaughter in accordance with the Meat Regulation, and the carcass was inspected following slaughter (post-mortem) and was approved for use as food in accordance with the Meat Regulation or the regulations under the Meat Inspection Act (Canada);  The animal was slaughtered in a plant operated by a provincially licensed operator or a federally registered establishment; and

 The meat is stamped, labelled or tagged with an inspection legend.”

For more information pertaining to the purchase, sale, processing and handling of meat and meat products please see http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/food/inspection/meatinsp/resp-under-meat.htm.

Fresh meats have to be properly refrigerated, and can only be sold by farmers themselves. Producers of value added meat products like sausages, bacon, ham, etc. do not have to be farmers themselves, but their product has to be made from meats that were purchased from an inspected organic or ecological Ontario source.

The source of all meat at the market should come from farm animals that have been treated humanely and raised in a cruelty free environment, and been given either organic feed, have been free-range, grass-fed, or pasture raised.

PROCESSED, PREPARED, AND OTHER FOODS

All makers and vendors of processed, prepared and other foods have to comply with Provincial, Federal, and Public Health regulations and food safety standards that pertain to their respective product(s). Further, the market management requires the address of the commercial or inspectable kitchen used for production/processing.

Processed Foods

Processed, value added and preserved foods may be sold at the Market as long as the foods are produced in an inspectable kitchen, and the producer is abiding by Toronto Public Health (TPH) guidelines and ensures the proper preparation, storage and handling of such products for the safety of Market customers. Vendors belonging to this category will be provided with TPH guidelines when applying for a market stall, and are required to obtain a Food Handler Certification.

On-Site Prepared Foods

Any vendor selling food items that are being prepared on-site during market hours for direct consumption or take-away, has to follow TPH guidelines in the preparation, proper handling and storing of such foods, and is required to obtain a Food Handler Certification, and to have a hand washing station in their booth.

Wild and Gathered Foods

All wild and gathered foods have to be harvested sustainably and with permission from the owner of the land where they were harvested from. This does NOT include pick-your-own harvesting operations on commercial farms and orchards!

Other Food Products

Food products that do not belong to the groups listed above can be sold at the Market as long as the producer can demonstrate an adequate reason why that product should be represented at the Market. These products may include commodities such as coffee, tea and chocolate, amongst others, and have been produced organically and under fair trade conditions.

OTHER PRODUCTS

Hand-made crafts and art may be sold during special events or by invitation only (the exceptions are wool and sheep skins that can be sold on regular market days by the sheep farmer him/herself), and have to be approved by the market management.

Locally handmade soaps and body care products can be sold at the market by the producer or his/her representative.

If you have a product that is not listed in this document, enquire with the market management.

AT ALL TIMES IT IS AT THE DISCRETION OF THE MARKET MANAGER AND/OR ORGANIZER TO ACCEPT OR REFUSE CERTAIN PRODUCTS.

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND COMMUNITY GROUPS: Please request a separate application form.

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Content last modified on May 27, 2009, at 05:10 PM EST