Name: Sorauren Farmers’ Market
Location: Sorauren Park, South of Dundas on Sorauren
Date & Time: Monday’s 3-7, May – October – In the Wabash Fieldhouse in the winter
# of Booths: 20-25
Contact: West End Food Co-Op @ 416.533.6363
Upon walking into the Sorauren Farmers’ Market there is an immediate feeling of community. Mothers and tots can be found sitting on a blanket in front of the live band, oftentimes entrusting their little ones to other mothers to get up and stroll the market.
The circle formation of the vendors’ booths adds to the welcoming feeling, and is something that market manager, Ayal Dinner, says is a way to foster the feeling of markets as an aspect of community. Not only for the shoppers, he adds, but for the farmers as well. “People are enjoying themselves and feel relaxed, and so that pass that feeling onto the vendors.” He says the vendors feel appreciated by shoppers, and this isn’t something that general society contributes to. “Most of the people that grow our food aren’t given very high status; they’re not paid very well and are often in debt.”
This is something that Dinner and the folks at the West End Food Co-Op are hoping to change. They are looking to open a grocery store by 2011 where “eaters, producers and workers are equal partners,” says Dinner. The farmers’ market concept grew out of this goal. It became a chance to develop a relationship between farmers and organizations that would like to be a part of their dream. The grocery store has many different goals, it will not only sell sustainable, locally grown food, but it will act as a meeting and educational space for the community. They hope to have classes, a community kitchen and a bakery area.
The West End Food Co-Op works very hard at supporting urban agriculture – that’s food grown bordering city limits – as well as new farmers involved with organizations such as Farm Start. Farmstart is a supportive endeavor that I’ve spoken about in another Farm Friday post that supports new farmers with money, tools and education. At the market, Dinner points out, are vendors who started out with Farmstart’s educational three-tiered system and grew into their own, such as The Cutting Veg, Matchbox Garden and Seed Co. and Kind Organics – including The Fresh Veggies, Pakistani farmers given the chance to adapt their growing techniques to their Brampton farmland.
Another organization that the West End Food Co-Op works closely with is the Parkdale Activity Recreation Centre, (PARC), who routinely come to the market to collect donations from farmers that can be distributed throughout Parkdale. The drop-in centre works to create a community where poverty and homelessness no longer exist. In partnership with PARC, The West End Food Co-Op created a cannery project, which should add as an extra outlet at the farmers’ market and teach people how to can their produce to save it throughout the winter. Another example of the kind of food education that the West End Food Co-Op value is a booth set up for all the children running around. This week, Garden Jane, one of a couple rotating educational vendors, invited children to wash potatoes, slice lettuce and herbs to create a unique potato salad.
Also rotating at the market is an urban agriculture table, geared toward groups like foodcycles, CamH’s sunshine garden where patients are given a chance to tend to the garden as a form of therapy and Debbie Nolan who runs Etobicoke Organics where she collects and sells food grown in Etobicoke backyards.
The mix of vegetable, cheese, meat and prepared foods vendors all work to create an atmosphere where people are welcome to come and spend an afternoon. With Tibetan food from Le Tibet Momo & Noodle, and fresh, chilled apple cider from Terra Tree it’s quite conducive to an impromptu picnic on the lawn. Also at the market is the All One Wholistic Clinic, offering massages for the weary shopper. The close location to the Wabash fieldhouse allows for a bathroom, as well as kitchen were dishes can be washed so that the portable tap water station always has a full bucket of mugs for thirsty vendors and market-goers. Also on hand are reusable utensils for the eco-conscious to use to eat their freshly cooked momo.