Good Food Markets nourish people AND communities.
Good Food Markets are community markets that sell high quality, culturally appropriate, affordable vegetables and fruits. These markets bring healthy produce to neighbourhoods where it might not otherwise be available, and where farmers’ markets aren’t viable because sales are too low to cover farmers’ costs.
Getting healthy food into neighbourhoods and communities where healthy grocery stores don’t exist is the priority. But markets tend to create a certain kind of energy in a neighbourhood too. Rubbing shoulders with neighbours, trying new things, fresh air, exercise–you get a lot more from a market than food.
This September, we celebrated Good Food Market Week and highlighted the markets located on this map that reopened after the lockdown.
Good Food Markets:
- Feature seasonal, local produce plus imported favourites in order to offer the greatest quality and cultural value to the neighbourhoods they serve.
- Uniquely reflect a community and are a vibrant and important gathering place, providing opportunities for neighbours to meet, share information and celebrate.
- Often evolve into informal community hubs with childrens’ activities, information about social issues, bake ovens and freshly prepared foods, jewellery and clothing vendors and harvest celebrations.
How the Good Food Markets Program Works:
FoodShare doesn’t start markets, we:
- Work in partnership with community organizations and neighbourhood leaders to run them.
- Pass on tools and provide training and ongoing support to community partners and residents who manage the operational aspects of the market.
- Deliver top-quality fresh produce which we purchase from local farmers and from the Ontario Food Terminal.
Critical criteria
- Interest in, development and operation of a market must be driven by community members.
- Markets must find a partner to handle left-over food.
- FoodShare will not supply a business or individual with produce, since all produce purchased through us is part of a community development strategy to support community self-organization.
FoodShare’s Community Food Animators offer:
Support:
- Finding a great location
- How to order, store, and market fresh produce to minimize losses and keep produce fresh and attractive
- Cues on financial start-up, materials needed, time commitment, etc.
Training:
- Finding a leadership team
- Book-keeping
- Management of market resources and finances
- Tools like newsletters, farmer profiles, and price lists to help attract and communicate information to customers
- Animation: Making the market a vibrant public place
Are you interested in accessing food programs for yourself or a family member? Would you like to improve the health of your community? Do you work for a community centre, health centre, social service or other agency that connects people with food programs? Please contact Tara Ramkhelawan via the information below on this page.
Resources
Good Food Market - Brochure
Good Food Market - New Market Application
Good Food Market - Manual
Good Food Market - Sample Order Form
