Happy Solstice, Market Friends!
Summer is officially here, and we sincerely hope you will join us even if we have a few showers once again. After all, you’ve got to eat, and so do the farmers!
It has to be a great market day with this news from the Sosnickis: “Rain or shine – we are coming with an epic load of two different kinds of Strawberries to Dufferin! The early “Wendys” are smaller, sweet, perfect for jam and fresh eating! The “Jewels” are big, sweet and perfect for fresh eating and slicing for shortcakes or dipping in chocolate! Grab your umbrella and come get ’em! We will also have our Kale bunches, Spinach and Salad Mix, and Garlic Scapes are ready too!!”
As well as the beginning of a new season, it’s National Pollinator Week. Learn more about creating a paradise for pollinators from our friends at LEAF, and celebrate the solstice with some gardening: Urban Harvest will be at the market with a good selection of (always pollinator-friendly) veggie, herb and flower plants and seeds, all on sale!
Welcome back to Shared Harvest Community Farm. After some delays due to the soggy spring, we are excited to have Kevin and Sandra at market again.
Here’s what will be coming from the Dufferin Park Bakers ovens:
Sourdoughs: rye, caraway-multigrain, mustard, cornmeal, olive-onion
Artisans: baguette, multigrain, pumpkin, potato-onion, kamut
Italians: rosemary, multigrain, whole wheat, raisin, challah
Cinnamon buns and Leslie Lindsay‘s stellar focaccia pizzas, too!
We’ve got lots more delicious dinner options, including something new: Dvourr will be serving delicious buttermilk fried chicken and waffles and slow roasted jerk pork waffles. Chef Camellia Mayers will be trying out her vegetarian *chicken* and waffles as well so if you don’t eat meat, don’t worry; she’s got you covered.
After your shopping, visiting volunteers from AbundanceGTA invite you to join in a community sing-along, Love Songs for the Lands and Our Farmers. No musical expertise required!
Mila and Stephanie from Sing for Joy will lead some playful easy-to-sing songs of thanks for the life in the soil, the light from above and all the growers who work so hard to feed the GTA.
You can also visit the all ages Colour The Lands table to learn about the work of Land Over Landings, and colour a banner that pictures an abundant, sustainable food-growing future for the vulnerable, Class One North Pickering Lands.
Tapioca Toronto, Plan B, and Spade & Spoon will be absent, and for family reasons, Thor Farms has to withdraw from the market for the time being.
See you at the market!
Anne Freeman
This Week’s Big List of Vendors:
Ali Harris (rotis, fish sandwiches, fritters, drinks, pesto)
Bees Universe (honey, eggs, knife sharpening)
ChocoSol (chocolate and coffee)
Country Meadows (olives, oil, cheeses, herbs)
Culture City (non-soy tempeh, fermented condiments)
DeFloured (sweet and savoury gluten-free baking)
Dufferin Park Bakers (wood-fired oven breads, soups & snacks)
Dvourr (cornbread waffles with assorted toppings)
Earth & City (snacks, spreads and beverages)
First Fish (wild-caught Arctic fillets and hot or cold smoked fish)
Forbes Wild Foods (fresh and dried mushrooms, syrup, nuts and other wild foods)
Fressy Bessie (organic ice pops)
Frogpond Farm (organic VQA wines)
Green Florin (nuts, oils and dried fruits) & Pine River Organic Farm (asparagus & other veggies)
Kind Organics (sprouts and salad mixes)
Knuckle Down Farm (veggies)
Lapapampa (organic dried mangoes)
Marvellous Edibles (organic chicken, produce, preserves)
Monforte Dairy (local cheeses from a variety of milks)
Robinson Bread (sourdough baking from freshly milled grains)
Shared Harvest (organic vegetables and herbs)
Sosnicki Organic Produce (organic vegetables, strawberries)
Urban Harvest (seeds, seedlings and soil amendments)
Waymac Farms (shiitake, lion’s mane, and three colours of oyster mushrooms)