We asked farmers and market customers “What Makes Your Favourite Market Special?”, and here are a few of their responses:

The friendly vendors!
Markets are a great place to work. Your meet some wonderful customers and great suppliers. Fresh food every day that tastes great.
Great producers and great people and local.
Relationships - with food, other vendors, patrons.
It reminds me to eat neglected things like celeriac and turnips!
Friendly gossip!!
Learning all of the different types of fruits and veggies!!!

Have you found your favourite market? Help us strengthen our community markets by spreading the word.

Coming up this month, the Toronto Farmers’ Market Network will be at Toronto’s Seedy Saturday on a Sunday! on February 21st.

Lots of great discussion coming up the last weekend of January at the Guelph Organic Conference, where reps. from more than a dozen farmers’ markets will take part in the Farmers’ Market Forum on Saturday and the networking room all weekend!

There’s a new indoor market being tried in Toronto, in the CBC building, Thursdays 10-2:30, once a month until April, beginning January 28th. It’s called the Regional ‘n’ Artisanal market.  Read all about it in The Star.

Who says New Year’s Resolutions can’t be fun?  You can combine many positive goals at farmers’ markets:  healthy eating, support for your local economy, a lower carbon footprint, learning about cooking, nutrition and agriculture, and getting to know more of your neighbours! Visit the List of Markets page for winter schedules.

After a summer that was tough on some farms, fall has been very forgiving, and many farmers coming to Toronto’s year-round markets have a truly impressive array of vegetable choices, with some still coming straight from field to market even as we reach December.  As the last harvests wrap up, good storage as well as greenhouses will keep us supplied with abundant local produce.  Combine that with well-raised local meats and other market delights and you’ve got great menu options ahead.