Organic producer gets tomato in the face from Parkdale Market
A family-run cartel is making life difficult for chemical-free growers attempting to sell vegetables at the Parkdale Market according to a market trader from a west Quebec farm specializing in organic produce.
“Internal politics” within the well-known market family — a fixture at the Parkdale booths for decades– is being blamed by Shawville producer Stuart Collins for the loss of the Bryson Farms’ organic booth, held on the same spot on the north side of the market for the past five years.
The Navan-based family’s longtime hold on the market tables may be coming to an end however, according to Collins, who says that next year the entire booth allocation for city-managed farmer’s markets–Parkdale, Byward, and Landsdowne, will be “up for grabs” with priority supposedly given to local growers.
Much of the produce now on offer in the market is shipped in from as far away as Mexico or Costa Rica.
I will miss them — they are one of the stalls I visit most regularly. I certainly hope they will be back next year.
I heard about the move to make the Parkdale Market more of a farmers market. I’ve been doing my best to buy local, or at least North American where possible. I’ve regularly avoided the market just a block from my home because of the family politics that blocks farmers from bringing in their produce.
I’m looking for what 2009 will bring.
It’s disappointing to learn Bryson will not have a stall set up at the Parkdale Market this year. I love the market, but believe these venues are the best place to feature local produce. Imported foods are easily accessible at any grocery store, which is not always the case with local foods. I definitely support local farmers having priority at the markets and will look forward to how this pans out next year.