Nourish Market Dollars at the PRFM
CHEX Global News paid us a visit to learn about Market Nourish Dollars and how the program is helping farmers, as well as those in the community who face barriers to accessing fresh local food. It’s a win-win for everyone and we’re so pleased to be a participating farmers’ market in the Nourish Project!
CHEX Global News paid us a visit to learn about Market Nourish Dollars and how the program is helping farmers, as well as those in the community who face barriers to accessing fresh local food. It’s a win-win for everyone and we’re so pleased to be a participating farmers’ market in the Nourish Project!
New location, same producers for downtown Saturday farmers’ market in Peterborough Peterborough
Visitors flocked to the opening of the indoor Peterborough Regional Farmers' Market on Saturday morning in the lower level of Peterborough Square. Mayor-elect Diane Therrien was on hand to greet people.
Mayor-elect Diane Therrien officially opens new indoor market location
Nov 03, 2018 by CLIFFORD SKARSTEDT Examiner Visual Journalist
Visitors flocked to the opening of the indoor Peterborough Regional Farmers' Market on Saturday morning in the lower level of Peterborough Square.
Mayor-elect Diane Therrien was on hand to greet people.
The market has moved from its summer home at the Citi Centre courtyard inside to the lower level of Peterborough Square in the space that was the temporary home for the Peterborough Public Library.
Indoor market hours are every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. running from November to April.
Vendors put down roots in new indoor space for Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market
Steps from Market Hall, where the first historical farmers’ market operated in the city, the Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market has found a new winter home.
By Barb Shaw - KawarthaNOW
PublishedNovember 6, 2018
The Peterborough Regional Farmers' Market opened on Saturday, November 3rd at its new winter location in Peterborough Square in downtown Peterborough. The indoor market runs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday from November to April and includes the same features as the summer outdoor market, including products from local primary producers (pictured is Brian Allin of Allin's Orchards), prepared food, artisan products, live music, and a children's area. (Photo: Barb Shaw / kawarthaNOW.com)
Steps from Market Hall, where the first historical farmers’ market operated in the city, the Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market has found a new winter home — where a community of local food vendors, artists, farmers and shoppers can come together every Saturday until the end of April.
Even the marketing for the Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market is local: local marketing company 79 Dev created the elevator wrap that reminds Peterborough Square patrons all week of the Saturday indoor market, and the market logo (seen in part on the floor) was designed by local agency Hatch Creative. (Photo: Barb Shaw / kawarthaNOW.com)
Pulling into the parking garage on the first morning of the indoor market, the curated experience begins immediately.
The free parking sign is out, welcoming visitors to the space, and bold and easy-to-follow signage leads a crowd of shoppers, gripping fistfuls of cloth bags, into the elevator.
Colourful images wrap the elevator space, setting the mood before the doors even open to the Peterborough Square Mall.
Caleb Pedosiuk and Sarah May, owners of a local marketing company called 79 Dev, completed all the branding work in the mall.
“No one had ever done an elevator wrap at the mall before,” Pedosiuk says.
“The images used in the wrap remind people to look forward to the market all week,” May adds.
People stream into the new space, relaxed, smiling, with children running around, playing and having fun. Large-scale photographs depicting food and family draw patrons in to the colourful, music-filled space.
The Peterborough Regional Farmers' Market opened on Saturday, November 3rd at its new winter location in Peterborough Square in downtown Peterborough. The indoor market runs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday from November to April and includes the same features as the summer outdoor market, including products from local primary producers (pictured is Brian Allin of Allin's Orchards), prepared food, artisan products, live music, and a children's area. (Photo: Barb Shaw / kawarthaNOW.com)
Michael Ketemer plays the hammered dulcimer as people stroll past. Money is dropped at his feet, a small token of gratitude and a nod to efforts each market member brings to the space to create a shopping experience that feeds the whole person.
The 20,000-square-foot space is brightly painted with eight different colours, with paint generously donated by Behr and Home Depot. The effect is joyfully mood-altering.
Everywhere you look — from the walls to the brightly coloured apples, carrots, and greens — the colours all work together to deliver a burst of energy, making it easy to forget that this is an underground space in a downtown mall.
Sherry Patterson and Laura Stephens love the new indoor location for the Saturday Market. The Chick-A-Biddy Acres team was busy selling fresh, local produce at the Saturday indoor market. (Photo: Barb Shaw / kawarthaNOW.com)
Sherry Patterson is having a busy Saturday. The owner of Chick-A-Biddy Acres is selling fresh produce and chatting with shoppers at a steady pace.
“It’s a magical feeling,” she says, looking around the market. “It’s an incredible amount of work that people have done to get this ready and it is lovely to be warm — wearing my t-shirt.”
It's a magical feeling. It's an incredible amount of work that people have done to get this ready and it is lovely to be warm.
Warmth was an important piece when looking for a winter location for the Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market. While their outdoor space at the Citi Centre Courtyard allowed for new expansion and growth, cold and damp winters made it necessary to find a suitable indoor option from November through April.
Gary Fenton enjoys the winter location of the Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market. He cooked his rotisserie chickens in the loading bay at Peterborough Square and enjoyed the crowds looking for fresh and frozen birds. (Photo: Barb Shaw / kawarthaNOW.com)
Gary Fenton also appreciates the warmth of the new space. The owner of G. Fenton Farms doesn’t need the Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market hoodie that be bought a few weeks ago. The sweatshirt is tossed on a chair and he’s in shirtsleeves, thankful for the warm, bright space.
Fenton sells chickens, rotisserie roasted, frozen and fresh. They’re all raised outside where they eat grass and bugs — which makes the birds taste great, Fenton says.
“The flavour is better and these birds are healthy,” Fenton explains. “We use zero antibiotics.”
Cindy Leahy shows off the jams and jellies produced by McLean Berry Farm. (Photo: Barb Shaw / kawarthaNOW.com)
Fenton’s chickens are popular at the market and patrons keep checking in at his stall to see when the rotisserie birds will be ready. His food trailer is parked in the loading bay of Peterborough Square and he pops in and out to check the progress as shoppers gather.
Patrons don’t mind waiting for the chickens though. There’s so much to do and see while they wait. There’s the kids’ zone tucked neatly into a corner, offering space for active play while parents shop or lounge on burlap covered hay bales, sipping fair trade coffee.
There are food booths, a community dining area, and artisans, and everyone is sharing laughter and conversation — a far cry from a typical Saturday grocery store experience.
Peterborough Mayor-Elect Diane Therrien, Peterborough Regional Farmers Network board chair Neil Hannam and board member Josh Blank, and Caleb Pedosiuk and Sarah May share their excitement about the new indoor market location at the opening on November 3, 2018. Caleb and Sarah own local marketing company 79 Dev, which did all the branding work for the indoor market in the mall. (Photo: Barb Shaw / kawarthaNOW.com)
Josh Blank is a Peterborough Regional Farmers Network (PRFN) board member and he’s making introductions, sharing hugs and handshakes, and pointing out who has been featured in what photograph. He points out the family that holds the eggs in one photo: farmers and now models.
Blank has once again brought the vision of the PRFN board to life and the first indoor market day is going well, thanks to the tremendous efforts that have been made over the past months.
“This is where the Peterborough farmers' market began and now, with these partners, we have fresh local food again in downtown Peterborough.”
“We’ve got this space for six months and it’s permanent,” he enthuses. “So we can run events and classes and the vendors get to leave their stuff here, which means more permanent displays. This is where the Peterborough farmers’ market began and now, with these partners, we have fresh local food again in downtown Peterborough.”
Blank also notes that the space was professionally designed for fun and — judging from the laughter, running kids, and smiling shoppers — the plan has worked.
Brian Allin hauls crates of apples from Allin’s Orchards to the winter location of the Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market in Peterborough Square. (Photo: Barb Shaw / kawarthaNOW.com)
The PRFN’s vision for the Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market was to promote a festive and vibrant community experience by inviting local food vendors and artisans into the market, showcasing the value-added production of local food and local crafts within the region. That vision has been nurtured over the past months and now it grows again, thanks to the new partnership with the owners of Peterborough Square.
And with season-extending greenhouses, a root cellar, a stone house, and the successful launch of the winter market, Sherry Patterson from Chick-A-Biddy Acres is looking forward to busy Saturdays through the winter season.
“This market and access to this food will certainly keep everyone happy, healthy, and cooking,” she says.
The Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market runs at its winter location in Peterborough Square at 340 George Street North in downtown Peterborough from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday from November to April. The market is located in the lower south level by Prince Gardens.
You can easily access the market from the mall’s underground parking; simply take the Galaxy Cinema elevator or stairs and exit at the first level into the mall. You can also enter from lower Charlotte Street by Princess Gardens, or at the food court; take the escalator downstairs and head to the south end of the lower mall. The farmers’ market will be well marked from all of the mall entrances.
For more information, visit www.ptboregionalfarmersmarket.org.
Tina Bromley from Tiny Green Plant Cafe juices at the new indoor market. Bromley loveed the warmth and the bright colours of the new winter location, as well as the enthusiasm of market patrons on the opening day. (Photo: Barb Shaw / kawarthaNOW.com)
Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market enjoying a harvest of success
Only two months after opening in their Citi-Centre Courtyard space in downtown Peterborough, the Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market is enjoying a harvest of success.
Shoppers are flocking to Peterborough's verified local farmers' market
By Barb Shaw - KawarthaNOW
Published August 21, 2018
Judging from its success to date, the Peterborough Regional Farmers' Market's "local food you can trust" message is resonating with the community. Sixty per cent of the market's vendors are primary producers who have gone through a third party inspection process to verify they grow 100 per cent of what they sell, with the remaining 40 per cent including bakers, prepared food vendors, artists, and community groups. Pictured is primary producer The Farm on Argyle, a family-oriented urban micro farm located just 2.5 kilometres from the market, that follows organic growing practices to produce a variety of fruit and vegetables. (Photo: Jenn Austin-Driver)
Only two months after opening in their Citi-Centre Courtyard space in downtown Peterborough, the Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market is enjoying a harvest of success.
Governed by the Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Network (PFRN), the new market has been building trust with patrons while supporting primary producers, who go through a complex verification process before they are allowed to participate.
“We are a verified farmers’ market,” explains PFRN Board Chair Neil Hannam. “This is about local food you can trust.”
“We are a verified farmers' market. This is about local food you can trust.
And trust is important to shoppers in the community, judging from the outstanding success of the market since its debut in early June — despite there already being two other farmers’ markets in Peterborough.
Local producer Hunnabees in Millbrook, beekeepers located 23 kilometres from the Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market, produces different varieties of natural honey, infused honey, and creamed honey as well as beeswax products. (Photo: Jenn Austin-Driver)
Operating on Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. in a family-friendly and accessible space that nurtures community interactions, the Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market is booming.
There’s little doubt that patrons of the market are connecting with the idea of buying directly from the farmer who grew, raised, harvested, or foraged the products that are being sold.
That’s because 60 per cent of the vendors at the Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market are primary producers who have gone through a third-party inspection process to verify they grow 100 per cent of what they sell.
Local producer and MyPick-verified Chick-a-biddy Acres, a small farm located 30 kilometres from the Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market, produces a variety of leafy greens, herbs, and other vegetables. (Photo: Jenn Austin-Driver)
Each primary producer must be verified either under MyPick®, a program started in 2006 by Farmers’ Markets Ontario, or another accepted third-party verification program.
Besides being a verified market, the Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market has also quickly become a social asset for the community.
As well as local food, the Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market is a social asset for the community, with areas where shoppers can sit, eat, visit, engage, and linger, and family friendly, with a kids’ zone that includes crafts, colouring, and water toys. (Photo: Jenn Austin-Driver)
The design of the market provides areas where shoppers can sit, eat, visit, engage, and linger. There’s a festive atmosphere featuring live music, and the market is family friendly, with a kids’ zone that includes crafts, colouring, and water toys.
And, most importantly, there’s the food, with so many different flavours — including some you wouldn’t expect to find at a local farmers’ market.
Like agretti, which is grown locally using seeds imported from Italy. Also called saltwort, this salt-tolerant succulent has a lemony flavor that shoppers are going crazy for. There’s also cinnamon cap mushrooms (they are great in risotto), lion’s mane mushrooms (offering a tremendous amount of protein and mouth feel to vegans), sprouts, and even squab (young pigeon).
At the Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market, you can find unique products not normally found at a local farmers’ market, such as agretti (grown locally using seeds imported from Italy), cinnamon cap mushrooms, lion’s mane mushrooms, and even squab. (Photo: Jenn Austin-Driver)
And thanks to the focus on 60 per cent of the market being represented by primary producers, hard cider is now available, as well as coffee from Carolinas Colombia which has been growing coffee on their own farm in Colombia and selling roasted coffee in Peterborough since 2012.
The market is also encouraging innovation and growth, with local farmers developing and building passive solar-supported greenhouses, so that local greens are now available eight months of the year.
According to Hannam, the Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market looks forward to more collaboration and growth as more and more foodies, families, and eco-conscious consumers make it their Saturday destination.
Local prepared food vendor Two Dishes Cookshop, whose business is located near the Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market on Charlotte Street in downtown Peterborough, offers take-away home-cooked meals, salads, breads, and scones and other baked goods. (Photo: Jenn Austin-Driver)
“It's about enjoying the experience, slowing down, and having tons of fun.”
“It’s about enjoying the experience, slowing down, and having tons of fun,” Hannam says. “This is not just about feeding stomachs, it’s also about feeding minds.”
The Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market is located at 307 Alymer Street North in downtown Peterborough and is open from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.
For more information, visit www.ptboregionalfarmersmarket.org or email info@ptboregionalfarmersmarket.com. For highlights of what’s available at the market and updates, you can also follow the market on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Kawartha Country Wines, the first winery in the Kawarthas, is located 46 kilometres from the Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market and offers fruit wines, fruit vinegars, jams, and jellies. (Photo: Jenn Austin-Driver)
