Stonegate Farmer’s Market
194 Park Lawn Road (parking lot of St. James’ Humber Bay Anglican Church)
Tuesdays 4pm – 7pm
June 24th – September 30th
With the concentration of farmers markets popping up in the downtown core, it’s important to remember that residents of the suburbs should have access to fresh local produce as well. For the past four years, Stonegate Farmers Market has been serving the south Etobicoke community with a variety of offerings every Tuesday afternoon.
The market was initially a pilot project implemented by Community Food Animators at FoodShare, the Stonegate Community Health Centre, and the Stonegate Community Ecumenical Ministry, and was set up to tackle food insecurity issues in the Stonegate neighbourhood. In the second year, the market became a full-fledged farmers market, run by Stonegate Community Health Centre with support from community organizations such as Stonegate Community Ecumenical Ministry, Community Food Animators Project, and the local food bank at St. James’ Humber Bay Anglican Church. The market also receives funding from the Food Security Investment Program.
Stonegate Farmers Market averages 10 to 12 vendors each week with a focus on organic and local produce. Market manager Julia Graham explains the participation criteria: “The market is producer-based, that is, vendors may offer goods for sale which they have produced themselves. However, a producer may sell produce grown by a farmer neighbour. The additional produce is limited to 25% of the vendor’s produce line. The intent of this exception is to increase the range of fresh produce offered to customers but not to encourage unfair competition.”
Unlike many of the downtown markets, which all seem to feature the same products, Stonegate Farmers Market offers a list of vendors that are not seen many other places. Produce vendors include Demkomart, Natures Way Organics, and fruit from Warners Farm. Beaver Vale Farms offers local, grass-fed beef; there’s honey and related products from Bee’s Universe, as well as bread from the Dufferin Grove bread oven.
Prepared foods on offer include Casalba Gourmet Pasta Sauce, jams and preserves from the Joy of Harvest, beverages from Sunshine Shakes and prepared goodies from Magaza Food that customers can buy to take home or to snack on while visiting the market. Flowers from Gaeta Farms and handmade soaps, pillow and jewelry from Earth Secrets round out the mix with a little bit of something for everyone.
Stonegate Farmers Market offers weekly events as well as a roster of musicians who perform each week. Events include holiday celebrations, a kids Summer Fun event, Raffle at the Market, Sun and Safety at the Market, Senior’s Day as well as tasting events.
When I asked Graham what else our readers should know about the Stonegate Farmers Market, her answer spoke to the original values of supporting the community rather than simply the trend towards eating locally.
“What makes the Stonegate Farmers’ Market unique is that it targets food insecurity and social isolation issues in the Stonegate community, located in south-eastern Etobicoke,” she explained. “Focusing on alleviating hunger and improving access to food, the Stonegate Farmers’ Market offers fresh produce to area residents who otherwise must depend on the one large, mainstream supermarket in the area that is accessible by residents without means of transportation.
“Park Lawn Road, where the market is located, is seen as a dividing line between an affluent neighbourhood and lower income community,” she continues. “The customer base at the market comes from both sides of this dividing line, bridging the community together and helping to provide local residents quality, locally-grown produce in the neighbourhood, with a venue where the Stonegate community can come together and connect to each other as well as the farmers that attend the market.”
With a mandate that ensures the availability of fresh local food for everyone in the community, Stonegate Farmers Market should be a Tuesday tradition for everyone in South Etobicoke.
