As we strive to eat as locally as possible, sourcing our ingredients from local farmers and growers, there comes a desire to share the joy and passion of nourishing food with others who value it as well. But what to do if you live rurally, or your community doesn't seem to have a local food hub, like a farmers' market or whole foods store? Fear not! Interest in good food is something we all share, some of us just don't know it yet. Through some investigation, team work, and a bit of hard-work, you can discover or create a local food hub tailored to your community.
Finding what is already there
It's quite possible that there is already a stronghold of local food in your community, just waiting to be discovered by you! Small farmers' markets, farm stores, or local growers that also stock products from other farmers may simply be unknown to you. The best way to discover what is there is to ask any one you know involved in the local food scene (farmer, chef, foodies, etc.) about where they like to get their food. You may be surprised by what they tell you, and the best kept secrets you may find.
Searching online is another great tool. With the internet connecting many businesses to customers, a little digging can yield lots of relevant results. Directories like Local Food Canada are a great place to look for specific growers as well as markets and retailers. You can also check out community pages on Facebook and ask around there about what people may know.
Partnering with what already exists and helping it grow is a lot easier than starting from scratch. Is there a farm store near you? If you are willing to do the organizing, ask them if you can organize a monthly farmers market in their parking lot! Or a seasonal spring and autumn market. While there are a lot of logistics involved with that sort of thing, there's not much a motivated and inspired individual can't do, especially with some community support.
Presenting an opportunity as mutually beneficial is a good way to broach the possibility of a partnership with an existing business. Being able to show a local farm store that a seasonal farmers' market will also benefit their sales or community exposure may make them more inspired to host your event in their space.
Connecting with farms
As mentioned above, connecting with local farmers is the best way to discover what local food hubs may be lying unknown to you in your area. As farmers have a vested interest in getting their food to people, they often know many of the local channels to do so, especially if they are a smaller farm. Send an email, give them a call, and see what direction they can point you in.
Starting a local food hub
If you've spent the time looking and still can't find a satisfactory local food hub in your area, then there lies both the challenge and opportunity to start one. A local food hub could look like many things: a farmers' market, a CSA program with food from many farms, community gardens, or being a place to provide educational resources or information to others about local growers. Your imagination is really the only limit.
Something to consider is to try and find out whether there have been similar ventures to what you are planning in your area in the past, for example farmers' markets. Try to connect with the organizers who were involved, and find out what worked and what didn't. Just because it didn't last once, does not mean it won't work now. There is value in learning from past experience though, so you don't make the same mistakes that may have been made previously.
Look for resources, particularly ones specific to your province or municipality, that can help guide you along the way. There are plenty of opportunities for funding or grants for those who know how to find them. Connecting with your local BIA or municipal office can be helpful to find out what is available and who can help you with it. At the bottom of this article are just a few helpful resources to get started and be inspired by.
What a local food hub could look like
farmers' markets are amazing, but they are not the only place or way for people to connect with local food. For the creative and inspired mind, there are countless opportunities to bring people together in real time with the food that nourishes and excites them. Just a few possibilities are touched on below.
Picnics featuring local food at a local farm, or community garden, with a donation paid towards the organizer and host. This could get people together, networking and sharing ideas, while also sharing good food.
Pop up "Gardener's Markets". Creating a once or twice a season opportunity for gardeners (and of course small farms if they are interested!) to come together and share their abundance with each other and the broader community. While this would require some good organization and logistics, it presents a unique way to bring together community. Some good places to explore doing this could be at a local farm store, town hall, library, or public park.
Community gardens. Truly a beautiful fusion of food and community, community gardens are an excellent food hub. It may seem strange in rural communities, where there is more access to land, but community gardens can be a great place for gardeners to pool resources like tools, knowledge and labour while making gardening a social event.
The possibilities are truly endless. Recognize what there already is in your community, partner with it and make it stronger. Or, if there are big gaps and opportunities to fill in the local food world around you, get creative and share the joy of good food with good people.
Helpful resources
- Information on starting a farmers' market in Ontario
- Community Garden Toolkit from Watersheds Canada
Written by Terran Vaivars Szwarc of Meadow Sun Nursery and Gardens, Lyndhurst, ON