Ah Guelph, how I love you. You are the vortex of good neighbourly-ness that brings people in and never lets them go, the city that still has actual parks and trails along 2 beautiful rivers (I won’t mention the Cargill plant), and how I love the quiet streets of the old university neighbourhood where I spent many days of my childhood. Honestly I do feel very connected to you and if I weren’t living rurally 29 km away for farming purposes, I’d still be living in your welcoming arms.
However, there is one thing in particular that drives me crazy about you, Guelph dearest. And that is your so-called “Farmer’s” Market. The nice new floors and counter-tops, and other renovations that gave you a face-lift a few years back don’t help me, I can’t get in the doors to sell my produce when people want to buy from me. Your market is a terrible mess of bureaucracy, non-farmer vendors (who are given priority over actual farmers), a manager who never seems to be having any fun, terribly cramped quarters for customers, and more! I’m sorry but it’s time I said something…
For the third year in a row I have requested a winter spot to sell my certified organic produce from my farm only 29 km away and have been denied. “Maybe we can fit you in January”, you told me. “Definitely not November and December”. “You can sell outside in winter though!”
Thanks, but no-thanks. Trying to keep my leafy greens from freezing in sub-zero temperatures with my low-tech farm truck is not my idea of fun, and by winter time I need a little pampering. Getting up at 4 in market already give me bad digestion. Sitting outside all morning in a blizzard may appeal to me if I’m winter camping in Algonquin park, but it does not appeal to me at market. Why isn’t the orange juice guy outside? Or the person selling warm socks? Or the re-seller who brings food from the Toronto Food Terminal? Why isn’t your market manager’s office outside weathering the snow?
This is my third year selling at the Guelph market. I’ve accepted that as a new farmer it will take some leg-work to get into the market. I know my allies are on the board who share similar views – and they are being over-powered and bullied by the big guys. I’ve been persistent as your client. The first year to get into the market took a lot of hassling you. Since the beginning to get what I need it has taken various phone calls, emails, and visits to your office. And that has gotten me somewhere, sometimes, but never far enough and never without struggle.
Right now, in April/May, our farm is thriving with our great little spot by the ramp outdoors- but come summer we won’t do as well. The market will soon be flooded with produce from the food terminal, and from too many vendors and few ground rules. I asked upon arrival this year if there was anything I shouldn’t sell and you didn’t outline any rules. I decided on my own that I didn’t want to put certain fellow local producers out of business. These were some of the thoughts in my thought process: “Sprouts”- there are other sprout-only vendors so I won’t bring our sprouts to the Guelph market.” “Seedlings- I’ll try to sell most of our leftover seedlings from our field at an on-farm sale so as not to take away a lot of business from folks doing seedlings-only at market” “Greens- that is our speciality so I will aim to make half my income at market with our certified organic greens!”
Dear Guelph “Farmer’s” Market,
You are not no-frills. This should not be a free-for-all that paves the way for huge farms and their resulting problems to take over the world. For starters you really should be giving guidelines so that your market is not over-saturated with certain products. And you should be giving local producers priority and space to sell their goods year-round.
Getting into farming these days is a feat enough (the average age of farmer is double my age), being able to sell at the local Farmer’s Market should not be a feat of equal proportions. And the city could be investing their dollars into simple warehouses where those goods can be sold rather than investing over a million in fancy floors or new toilets. Once your downtown market is full with amazing local producers you could consider supporting other markets, starting in every corner of the city (South, East, North, West)… to serve the rest of the growing city.
Our city is far bigger than when John Galt started the first market in 1827. Why the heck is the market supposed to be the same size as it was then? Please, keep expanding so that farmer’s don’t go out of business and so that the local food movement can actually get somewhere.
Here are some other ideas taken from excellent market case-studies in other cities (i’ll add hyperlinks to example markets in the winter when I have time):
1. How about a producers-only market that only allow local farmers to sell their produce? Or a market that prioritizes producers before craft, prepared food vendors, and re-sellers. Even better is a market that makes space for both farmers and other local-business vendors because the families making a living from selling salsas, or pies are important too! Please tell re-sellers, sorry- your time has come to find a way of making a living that does not compromise the future of our local food system. Or at least tell re-sellers that you are going to monitor them very closely (see next point)…
3. How about guidelines that help everyone make a living?: allow particular vendors to have priority to sell certain goods. Once they sell out (i.e. the 3 priority vendors with asparagus), other vendors and re-sellers can put that thing out on the table, but not until the first three farmers have sold out.
3. Consider a separate market for Organic/Ecological farmers or a designated space for these vendors so as to reduce confusion. People don’t know what is what at the Guelph market and various times I have walked around with friends giving a “Sustainability Tour”. My tours go somewhat like, “this gal is awesome and actually grows these things 20 km away, I’ve seen it. – this person buys at the food terminal — this person markets their meat as sustainable since they get some outdoor time but just so you know they are still eating conventional GMO feed — this bakery is actually a chain — this person’s fruit is the closest to organic of any of the offerings here — this person says organic but that does not mean certified organic so you should verify the methods used to grow the food… etc.” Host workshops that help consumers become aware of the whole spectrum of food options available to them so that every citizen knows what the word “Ruminant” means, and so that people stop thinking that “no spray” is the same as organic. I sprayed yesterday on my farm- I was spraying compost tea. Conventional farmers don’t own spraying you know…
4. Follow up and verify that what your vendors are saying is true. Market managers should go to the farms to ensure that they are doing and growing what they say. If you tried to follow that sweet pepper you bought back to the bucolic farmer you thought grew it, you might be sadly shocked to find yourself at a huge farm in Mexico with terrible labour conditions, or that turkey might be grown in a giant warehouse where you have to wear a has-mat suit and shower 3 times before entering. As a buyer myself at the Guelph market I have literally asked if something was local (a butternut squash sold in fall), been told it was, and then found a sticker that says product of mexico on the back. The Market should have a system for customers to report this, and should kick these vendors out after 3 strikes.
And my idea that might exist somewhere but I haven’t heard about…
5. My biased idea: Give farmers/business owners that are under 30 years of age some incentive and help getting into farming. We are in a CRISIS, that the average age of farmer is above 50 and we don’t have enough new farmers taking up farming in a country with some of the best farmland in the world. You know what this means? It means eating cardboard-flavoured strawberries from mexico, or just straight cardboard! Yum!
So please: recognize the efforts of new farmers!
So what is our farm doing about this mess, my dear Guelph?
Well for one, writing this letter (on a morning when I have many other things to do on the farm) because it matters to me.
It has always been a part of our goal to sell mainly in Guelph (Our “Holistic Management Plan” will be a future blog post!). We always made it our goal to stay out of Toronto as long as possible and serve our most local market. And don’t get me wrong, we are beginning to do quite well with our business.
We decided last minute to join the spring market at Guelph because we knew there weren’t many local vendors, and that they weather wouldn’t be too bad for being an outdoor vendor. But we are leaving the week of June 17 (temporarily, we hope). We have decided not to sell at the Guelph farmer’s market for most of the season. Instead we are distributing our vegetables via a CSA (Community Share Agriculture) Program. The CSA is a model that WE have ownership and power in. If it rains we don’t have to go home with piles of extra produce since people are committed to throwing on their rain coats and getting their produce every Wed evening (for Guelph members). With CSA we can provide prices that are a bit more affordable for people than our market prices because there is much less waste. We can keep our members up to date about the joys and challenges of our farm-life and they are truly invested in local agriculture. We are advocating for CSA because our local market is failing us (We also like the CSA model for other reasons.)
Producing for CSA is the most challenging and fulfilling thing we do- it is a lot of variety and volume on a weekly basis for a span of 23 weeks. CSA pick-ups are an absolute joy and soul-filling time of the week. People are thankful and kind, and understanding, and patient, and invested in what we do. It is as fun as market, and for now, more important. By the end of the season we will need to sleep for about a month. But to meet our financial goals, after much brainstorming, it is what works best. It is what will help us get our farm on it’s feet.
Our CSA will end mid November and then we are stuck, needing a farmer’s market. Last year we ran a winter CSA but we feel we weren’t quite ready for it. Our storage on-farm is not adequate and our propane bill for the Greenhouse was too high and inefficient. However, we do need to keep selling whatever we can produce to help us make it through the winter. (We will have some storage crops, some greens, and a few processed vegetables like frozen rhubarb, etc.)
So recently, when trying to plan our winter I got an email from Guelph Market that said “no” to Nov-Dec and “maybe” to January. Yikes! I can’t plan my mortgage payments on a maybe. I responded asking how many seasons I might have to be there before they would consider me for the indoor winter market. I haven’t gotten a response.
And how can you help us?
1. We’d love for our market to be Guelph, to stick it out, and patiently try to change the market for the better. But that would require each and every one of you to visit the market office and let them know you want us there and you want to see changes. They might not like me for asking you to do this, but we can’t wait forever for a change… (* as of Saturday May 16 I had a great conversation with a brand new market manager – they may be soon asking the public for comments on the market, for the first time ever! Even before they open the floor to publicly do so the new manager was receptive and grateful for my letter, and I think with the shift in management it is a pertinent time to get in touch with them!)
2. A second thing you can do is to help us find an alternative high-traffic producers-only winter market in the area. Something within 20-50 km of our farm would be ideal. Something about the same size as Guelph or bigger. FYI: we can’t make our mortgage payments at those lovely, but too-small village/town markets.
3. Donations to our Farm Fund are always accepted. See our Farm Fund Page for more details. It will soon be updated to add the details of our 2014 Farm-Fundraiser.
4. A last resort: Organize together with friends and neighbours to start an ecological local-producer only market in downtown Guelph. Our CSA drop is a bit like one! We, and other local producers will join you if you can promote and organize it well.
5. LAST AND MOST IMPORTANT FOR OUR FARM! Join our CSA and promote our CSA. And other CSAs!
Thank you for your continued support and your work to change the local food system to a food system that is just and possible for all!
Bethany
* I acknowledge that not everyone has access to equal opportunities to pursue farming despite wanting to. I appreciate any concerns, discussion, or questions about this privilege, as well as discussions pertaining to colonization and the historical and present First Nations communities whose land many of us are farming on. We are chipping away at a huge thing here, please pick up the chisel and do the same!
Thanks for this blog post Bethany. I frequented farmers markets in Vancouver, and have been completely disappointed by this “farmers” market in Guelph. I can’t stand how it is run too. My partner and I have decided to sign up for your CSA, and fully support you guys!!!
Thanks for commenting! The new market manager just talked to me and said they might, for the first time ever, request public comments about the market. I think this would be super- positive!
I absolutely agree with everything you write, Bethany! and admire the fact that you have the energy to do so in such great style. Looking forward to helping in any possible way…see you in June!
Wahoo! I can’t wait to see you too! Thank you for reading!
Excellent article! So well done! Please send me information on csa ie..price, location etc..thanks, Lisa
Yes, you can find our CSA info on the website page: http://zocaloorganics.ca/veggie-shares/. Or email me zocaloorganics.ca and I will email the info to you!
You Rock Bethany. Far from naive or unwise, you shared your insights professionally yet powerfully. If I was closer to you I’d buy a CSA in an instant. Love and Light, m
thanks!
It’s the manager.
I was at the St. Jacobs market with my kids last weekend and we were talking about how Ontario tomatoes come from greenhouses this time of year (the tomatoes growing to go in our garden are barely more than sprouts at this point). As we walk on my 10yo says ‘And where do these bananas come from this time of year? ‘. ‘Oh honey, bananas never grow in this part of the world’. ‘Then why are they here?’ I went on to explain that I keep an eye out for vendors selling things that do not grow here or that are vastly out of season as an indicator of vendors that probably don’t carry local or even Ontario produce… True in Guelph too. I would support the market giving priority to local and seasonal produce over re-sellers… or at least requiring the little signs on the produce indicating origin.
I will say that this article/blog drives home a LOT of the things that disappoint me about our Guelph Farmers’ Market. Unfortunately the market management is deeply mired in *years* (DECADES) of bureaucratic bullshit, with many of the vendors held up as examples of “what should be changed” within the piece being deeply grandfathered into their spots with zero change in sight. During my 3 years as an art/craft vendor in the market I spent 2 1/2 years serving on the market board. That “inside look” showed me that it’s a never ending cycle of “can’t do that/always been that way/we’d have to change the existing laws and that has to come from the city council” and that there is no WILL to do so at any of the layers of the city management of the market. Until the CITY (*NOT* the market management; they are 3 layers down the chain and have little to no say in the deep issues) completely rewrites the GFM rules and mandates *nothing* will change. And as some of the major resellers have been in the market longer than you have been alive Bethany, there is little chance they will be asked to move along without some serious backlash from the market buyers to put pressure on the city to do so. The status quo shall remain until a majority of the folk that shop at the market see it as something more than just a downtown alternative to Zehrs… and *most* of the markets customer base really don’t seem to care all that much – and THAT is truly unfortunate.
I too spent 17 years in BC and loved shopping the Trout Lake Farmers Market with its “make it/bake it/grow it” mandate; incredible quality and pride in all aspects. During my time on the board I pushed for that practice to be implemented within the GFM (extending the same mandates to the so called art/craft that is allowed into the market without jurying) and was told repeatedly that such restrictions just weren’t possible within the GFM.
Wow, well I think it’s awesome that you got in there and tried to do something about it! this conversation is really bringing a lot of great stories out of word-work that need to be compiled and become one formal commentary on the market (rather than just my own rant:))
Everything you say here is why I dodge the Guelph market and go down the road in the summer to the Aberfoyle market. It’s one of those tiny markets that won’t help you, and it’s summertime only, but I’m happy there and confident on what I buy.
I only ever come out of the Guelph market wanting to kick people. I wish you luck in finding a new market home.
Aberfoyle Market is win and doesn’t have most of these issues.
I’ve never been and suspect it’s not got enough traffic but I would be interested in scoping it out- what time is it?
Fantastic article. One idea might be to have a small downtown conventional grocer to take the market for conventional produce away from the GFM and maybe free up space for actual growers?
The renovation seemed to be for renovations sake and didn’t result in any improvement in terms of patron experience. What a waste.
Last thought, am I the only one who considered the GFM’s temporary home at Exhibition Park to be a far superior offering in terms of maneuverability, variety, community connectivity and overall experience satisfaction?
Keep doing what you’re doing, Seb & Beth.
I actually loved the Exhibition park location too! Sitting in the shade in the park after market and chatting with friends eating strawberries and other market treats is one thing I loved about that location! The space to move inside was also great! We were inside with veggies while others were outside so we often were not found on time (people had already bought veggies by the time they found our options), but other than that I loved it!
Way to go Beth! I’ve always lamented the poor priorities, overwhelming and misdirected bureaucracy and lack of innovation of farmers markets (in particular Guelph). Good for you for calling it out!
They have a new manager and just changed hands in the City of Guelph to now operate under Culinary Tourism (rather than parking), and after talking to the new manager it seems like something might give!
Bethany, Your article is very timely. When I saw your article I had just spent the morning, trying to manoeuvre the Guelph Farmers Market without giving to much stink eye to the “no spray” or “virtually organic!” vendors who are likely sourcing their producing from the food terminal. A colleague of mine has a personal favourite encounter at the GFM: while approaching a vendor who is pulling stickers off the tomatoes, she asked “are those organic?” The vendor paused then responded “oh yes, yes, they are organic”. We have both decided to get a CSA share and are thrilled to not be shackled to Saturday morning shopping trips to that farce of a market to find locally grown high quality veggies. Thank you Bethany for your perseverance as a young farmer! And thank you for continuing to be a strong voice for change in the local food system! Keep it up!
thanks! A few people have said to me that they had no idea there was reselling- this should be public knowledge! Some argue that re-sellers are there to keep some produce coming in through the winter but i think more farmers would sell their winter goods (like us) if they could get into market..
Oh! I am so relieved to hear that other people don’t like the Guelph market! I thought it was just me! It needs huge improvements and I won’t go back for a long time. Many great ideas in this blog. Thx for starting the conversation Bethany.
Great thoughts Bethany, no doubt from your lived experience, if people don’t take notice of your candid observations, then we have no hope for the market.
I just want to add that I rarely go to the farmers market and the times I have been there I find it intimidating, it is not the crowd as I am from India and I am used to bigger and tighter crowds, but it just vibrates of uptightness and arrogance.
My husband and I are farmers at the Guelph Farmers Market. Our produce is organically grown and has been for the past 40 years, which is how long we have been vendors there. . Our market season runs from mid June to Thanksgiving or in more concrete terms from the week our spinach is ready to pick, to when the frost has touched everything and improved the flavour of the squash and pumpkins. Yesterday, given that our spinach had reached picking size and the mescal was high enough to bear my scissors, we bounced down our driveway through the quiet streets of a sleeping city and arrived once again at market. Our new season had begun. As we set up, our customers dropped by to say as they always do, ” Oh , you’re back” and equally , ” Oh, are you new here. ” Today though the regulars were up in arms. Apparently some of the new farmer vendors had mounted a protest about the unfair competition posed by the resellers. They were furious. Why? Because they knew that without the resellers, there would be no market , farmer or otherwise. I listened with a growing sense of outrage. I am situated right across from Kennys. Their mescal is $1.99 , my mescal was weighing in at $5.00 . I know about price competition. BUT, hey I don’t compete on price. I compete on the fact that Saturday morning my back aches and my knees are complaining because what’s on my stall was picked yesterday, was grown better than grandpa’s and even little kids can taste the difference. The resellers service a different market than I do. We both know it, and they service my market in winter which is why I have their satisfied customers willing to pay over twice as much for my product. ( I checked your prices You are more expensive than me since I provide more quantity than you) . Anyway here’s the point that you are missing. A market needs staples of consistent quality. People do not come to market to buy one thing. They come to shop for the week. The more things you can provide them to stroke off their shopping list , the more sales you will make. In addition , if you fail to provide variety, they will go to Zehrs and shop for convenience. The Farmers Market provides both community and shopping and as much convenience as it can. My success as a vendor depends on the fact that people will build their shopping trip around the fact that they needs apples from Gord Laidlaw, and meat from Thatcher Farms and cheese from the Goat People. They come for the staples, they buy the greens as afterthoughts.
Because I have been at the market forever, I know some of our growing pains. For a long time, it was overrun by flea market goods. Cheap, made in China, made in someone’s attic. We made the decision that market would be about food, good food. We all have a role to play.
As vendors, too , we all have a lot to learn. I could bitch or complain that the Kenny’s were underselling me ( they are more than competitive with both Zehrs and Costco) Or,, I could learn to promote my produce. I could learn that I had to stand all morning and not sit. I could learn that my job was to spot the customer who was covertly looking across the way. I could learn to pack faster. I could learn to price so that making change is easy. I could learn who needed to know how to make my produce taste as good as my taste test ( variations on eat it now) . I could refuse to sell people my fresh peas if they were going home to sit for a week in the fridge. I could learn to smile at the grumpies and get them to smile at my very best magic beans.
I was so upset to learn that our resellers were being targetted . We are lucky at the Guelph Farmers Market to have vendors of the stature of the Kenny’s whose ability to choose top quality produce for our customers exceeds that of any produce manager in any food chain , in Wellington County. In addition, I think that what the resellers provide is affordable food for families . Our organic produce is expensive and your five dollar bag of Mescal would make one small salad fora family of four ( mine would make a large salad) . ( Hey, when I bought a bag of yours two weeks ago, it made one salad for me and my husband) . The point is that the Farmers Market is there to feed families as nutritiously as possible. My point is that we all have a role to play.
And yes it is hard to get into the market. You actually landed a prime outdoor location. And it is as hard to get an outdoor space as an indoor space. You also have long waits and being a new vendor is a royal pain. We have all been there, all been moved around. The regulations and barriers to entry are many. So too are the quality of vendors who want in. Every garden does not a farm make, and from a rental perspective, it is really hard to know that someone who pays 12 months rent for a large space will pre-empt your 4 month season. It’s not perfect, but your solution to limit the resellers offerings shows a certain naivety which I am glad the market has at least temporarily decided to overrule. . On the upside, my irate customers bought both my spinach and lettuce before they crossed the aisle to buy avocados and oranges from the Kenny’s . Thank God, Zehrs doesn’t know how many sales they lost today!!
Hey Jacqueline,
Thank you so much for commenting on the blog. I havent had a chance to go into admin and approve it, but I will.
I wrote that blog a few years ago and reflecting back I don’t agree with all of the things I said. But to acknowledge myself as an evolving human and learning farmer I keep that writing up here. I hope to write a new piece reflecting some of the learning and pondering I’ve gained over the last couple of years.. and the excitement I have that people are talking about these things.
There are many things to respond to in this…
To clarify, I was not involved in any way with the original complaints to Kenny’s nor the mayor- I was just like everyone else who read it in the newspaper and heard the word on the street. I support whoever had the courage to bring the issue up. Also, I did not “lead” any of the things happening at the market meeting – it was the first meeting I EVER worked up the courage to attend and speak at. And hearing how other people are talking about me behind my back feels strange but it won’t deter me from holding differing opinions.
I believe in more for myself and for my farm, and for the ecological farming community- I’ve been exposed to examples of markets that thrive without resellers – not to say that they may not have a role at this market- but my hope is to transition to something less reliant on resellers, and more full of options from the farms around our community.
Thanks again for engaging, and I appreciate your view.
Bethany