Celebrating National Farmers' Market Week

This week marks National Farmers' Market Week in the United States. According to The Huffington Post this recognition began in 2000. In almost ten years, the local food movement has gained a huge foothold and the number of farmers' markets has increased at an astonishing rate across North America.

Toronto has just endured a six week long strike by city workers. Because many of the markets are held in city owned properties or parks, they were shut down by the strike. The citizenry was outraged and within a week organizations representing farmers had met with city officials and union officials and markets were allowed to re-open. When we had our last strike in 2002 the farmers and shoppers were simply out of luck. In that seven years the City of Toronto and the union locals learned that the good people of Toronto were willing to put up with stinking piles of garbage in make-shift dumps dotted throughout the city, but come between them and the strawberry harvest and look out!

It says something about how the farmers' market has become a part of the fabric of urban life. Cities like New York and Toronto boast upwards of 50 markets that thrive in parks, churches and public spaces throughout the city where people can walk to pick up local fresh produce, eggs, meat and bread. Rural communities have long known that the weekly market is not only a place to buy and sell your wares, but also a place to connect with your neighbours.

There is also a huge economic impact here. Your dollar goes directly to the person responsible for providing your food, and it stays in your community, completely bypassing corporate executives, marketing executives and grocery stores. The green aspect is also obvious. Many of these farmers provide organic produce, without the use of pesticides and hormones. And, of course, the only packaging involved are the bins used to carry produce to market.

In the U.S. there are nutrition programmes provided through markets for women with babies and for seniors. Programmes for providing fresh fruits and vegetables to hospital patients through farmers' markets are getting underway as well.

While I find it depressing to go to a grocery store and see produce from foreign lands for sale at the same time it is in season here, I feel that the farmers' markets have made inroads. The availability of markets in my neighbourhood has certainly improved the quality of food that we eat in our home, and for that I am grateful.