A farmer's marketing we go

To any foodie worth their weight in strawberries, any time spent in a farmer's market is akin to dying and going to heaven.

I've been frequenting the farmer's market at the East York Civic Centre every Tuesday from the end of May to the middle of October for years. I hate getting up early, but on market day, I set my clock and leap out of bed at the first hint of music coming from my clock radio so I can be assured of the best possible selection. Once there, I sprint across the lawn with my bundle buggy to see what's available that week. Yup, no makeup, funny sun hat, and a bundle-buggy--it's a really cute look.

As the season unfolds so do the crops. The day the fresh Ontario strawberries arrive I nearly weep. Yes, I know I'm a total wacko. Fresh local strawberries make me cry. You ought to see me at a Christening, I'm a mess.

I love the feeling of buying from my local farmers, I love the freshness of the fruits and veggies, and I love the community spirit it evokes. All in all it's a love feast from the get-go.

So when I heard my area was getting another farmer's market on Thursdays at the local park down the street I wrote it in ink in my daytimer. How lucky can a foodie get? Two markets in the same week? All summer and fall? Someone pinch me.

East Lynn Park's farmer's market is operated by the MyMarket Farmers Market Ontario group, and it was packed with 100 per cent locally grown produce and it is wonderful. I felt like a kid in a candy store.

I bought fresh baby spinach complete with sand and soil still clinging to the roots. I welled up at my first sighting of local strawberries. I've already eaten a slice of delicious 100% whole grain spelt bread from the Monckton Organic Farm and Bakery with a little honey from Bees Universe, and I can't wait to crack one of the organic eggs from Organic Meadows that is now nestled happily in my fridge. There were farmers selling herb and vegetable plants, two Mennonite ladies selling beef and whole roasting chickens, and a pie lady, but I passed on the pie. My butt is too big to indulge in pie right now; bathing suit season is approaching a bit too rapidly for my vanity's sake. Maybe I'll splurge sometime in October and buy a pumpkin pie when being seen in a bathing suit is only a fleeting memory.

I'm in fruit, veggie, foodie heaven and it's only the middle of June. I love this season.

For more information on farmer's markets in Toronto check out:
http://www.my-market.ca/
http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2004-10-07/cover_story.php

For more information on farmer's markets in Ontario check out:
http://www.400eleven.com/farmers-market.html

For more information on farmer's markets in B.C. check out:
http://www.bcfarmersmarket.org/

For more information on farmer's markets in Alberta check out:
http://www.albertamarkets.com/

For more information on farmer's markets in Saskatchewan check out:
http://www.saskfarmersmarket.com/

For more information on farmer's markets in Manitoba check out:
http://100milemanitoba.org/subpages/manitobafarmersmarkets.htm

For more information on farmer's markets in Quebec check out:
http://www.homemakers.com/Life&Times/travel/quebec-farmer-s-markets-n238572p1.html

For more information on farmer's markets in Nova Scotia check out:
http://www.homemakers.com/Life&Times/travel/nova-scotia-farmer-s-markets-n238636p1.html

For more information on farmer's markets in New Brunswick check out:
http://www.fallsbrookcentre.ca/foodmiles/markets.htm

For more information on farmer's markets in P.E.I. check out:
http://www.organicpei.com/content/page/market_where/

For more information on farmer's markets in Newfoundland check out:
http://www.homemakers.com/Life&Times/travel/newfoundland-and-labrador-farmer-s-markets-n238746p1.html