By Feeding City Lab
The second annual Toronto Public Markets Week launches this Sunday!
In 2023, in conjunction with the International Public Markets Conference, the City of Toronto declared a celebration of Public Markets Week across the city. This year, Toronto Public Markets Week is back, with the goals of highlighting and bolstering the potential of Toronto’s public markets and of supporting the communities that make them possible. Organized by Marina Queirolo and the team at marketCityTO in collaboration with local partners, Toronto Public Markets Week will run from Sunday, June 16 – Saturday, June 22, 2024.
Over the past four years, the Feeding City Lab has collaborated with marketcityTO on support for research, knowledge sharing, and knowledge mobilization. MarketcityTO champions Toronto’s potential to become a market city, highlighting how public markets enable inclusive and diverse local economies, increase social connection and well-being, and advance climate action and regional resilience. In a past episode of Feeding City Lab’s Voices from the Food Frontlines podcast series, Marina shares some of the key ingredients to building a public market infrastructure, emphasizing that community co-creation empowers people to envision and activate new models of food distribution:
“… For me it’s really important that we anchor this work in the ecology of our place, in stewardship of the land, and building relationships with people, because that’s what markets do: They build connections and social connections in place.” (To listen to the full episode, click here.)
This summer, Feeding City Lab research assistant Yang Jing Zheng is working with Marina on supporting Public Markets Week and marketcityTO’s broader work of developing a Toronto Public Market Action Plan for the City of Toronto. Describing her work-study experience, Yang Jing says:
“I had the pleasure of researching markets in Toronto and GTA and compiling the information into an interactive map document. Following, I have been assessing and extracting market manager survey data to evaluate the opportunities and barriers of managing markets in the city. The survey data will then be synthesized and organized into a comprehensive report. Alongside this research, I will be assisting in marketcityTO booths during Public Market Week.”
The Toronto Public Markets Interactive Map is now available online at marketcityTO.
With local stakeholders marketcityTO is organizing a series of experiential tours to engage the public and help celebrate Toronto Public Markets Week:
Scarborough Farmers’ Market & Neighbourhood Culinary Adventure!
Afro-Caribbean Farmers’ Market & Little Jamaica Freedom Through Food Tour
Eglinton Way Farmers’ Market & Neighbourhood Walking Tour
St. Lawrence Market & Old Town
Wandering to Withrow: History Bites and Tasty Treats
More on Feeding City’s past work on public markets in Toronto:
Building Toronto into a Market City | Podcast, 2023
In this episode of Voices from the Food Frontlines, Marina Queirolo of marketcityTO highlights the ways in which public markets can facilitate short supply chains within a regional food system, support small and medium retail businesses, and build community. Click here to listen to the episode and read the full episode description. To learn more about the Voices from the Food Frontlines podcast series from the Feeding City Lab, click here.
Bringing Farmers’ Markets to Underserved Neighbourhoods: A Story from Scarborough | Podcast, 2023
What is the past, present, and future of farmers’ markets in Scarborough? In this episode of the Voices from the Food Frontlines podcast series, the Feeding City Lab speaks with Jennifer Forde of the Scarborough Farmers’ Market and the Courtyard Farmers’ Market. Click here to listen to the episode and read the full episode description. To learn more about the Voices from the Food Frontlines podcast series and to subscribe for new episodes, click here.
An Urban Farm in Scarborough: Cultivating Food Access and Economic Opportunity in a Hydro Corridor | Podcast, 2023
What role could an urban farm play in supporting food security in Scarborough? In this episode of Voices from the Food Frontlines, Claire Perttula of the Malvern Family Resource Centre brings listeners into the Malvern Urban Farm. Click here to listen to the episode and read the full episode description. To learn more about the Voices from the Food Frontlines podcast series from the Feeding City Lab, click here.
Farmers’ Markets and Food System Resiliency in Toronto | Podcast, 2023
In this episode, Feeding City Lab talks with a former market manager about what it takes to build up a farmers’ market in Toronto. Mike Lawler offers listeners a peek into two different open-air markets: one that had only recently opened within a new planned community in downtown Toronto, and another that was long established in the city’s west end. Click here to listen to the episode and read the full episode description. To learn more about the Voices from the Food Frontlines podcast series and to subscribe for new episodes click here.
“How a University of Toronto Team Supports Scarborough and Courtyard Farmers’ Markets’ Pandemic Innovations” | Story, 2021
“The Virtual Farmers Market: Helping Fill the “Missing Middle” between Small-Scale Producers and Eaters” | Story, 2021
“Following-Up with the Withrow Park Farmers Market” | Photo Story, 2021
“Photo Story: The Withrow Park Farmers Market” | Photo Story, 2021
“Urban Farming in a Pandemic: Implications for Urban Food Systems” | Story, 2020
“Photo Story: Ontario Farms” | Photo Story, 2020
“Feeding the City, Pandemic and Beyond: Voices from Local Grocery Stores and Public Markets in a Diverse City” | Webinar, 2020