2011 Vendor Guidelines

You can order the vendor application form by sending an e-mail to info(at)withrowpark(dot)ca, or call 416-461-2825.

The Withrow Park Farmers’ Market has been created to connect Ontario farmers and producers of specialty food items with consumers in a direct exchange.

All produce, food items and other goods sold at the market have to be certified organic or ecologically and sustainably produced. Please note that at no time Genetically Modified Organisms of any kind are allowed for sale at the market, including as ingredients in prepared foods.

Market Location and Hours This is an open air seasonal market. The market usually starts on the last Saturday in May and ends on the last Saturday in October.

Location: Withrow Park, Toronto, one block south of Danforth Avenue, between Logan Avenue and Carlaw Avenue

Market Hours: Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. , set-up starts at 8 a.m.; sales are not permitted before 9 a.m.!

Fees: In addition to the stall fee, vendors are required to pay an annual $25 membership fee on their first market day. The annual membership fee is used to help with seasonal start-up costs, and guarantees you a spot in the market. For the duration of the season, a $30 daily stall fee (for a 10’ x 10’ area) will be collected during market hours, and a receipt issued. If the vendor requires more space, an additional $5 charge per table will be applied.

Parking: Vehicle access to the site is allowed during set-up and take-down only. Vehicles can park for free in the adjacent Holy Name Catholic School parking lot on a first come first served basis. Curb-side parking spots are reserved for produce farmers with large vehicles only.

New vendors are required to submit an application form; returning vendors will be admitted to the new market season by the on-site market manager or market organizer by invitation only. This is a producer only market. Any resale that may occur has to abide by the guidelines listed in this document, and is at the discretion of the market management.

Due to the lack of storage facilities, vendors are responsible for bringing their own tables and/or chairs, and weather protection.

The Market is co-ordinated through the Withrow Park Farmers’ Market Committee and administered by the market manager and/or market organizer.

The market manager, market organizer and committee members reserve the right to visit farmers and other market vendors during the season, in order to inform themselves about food production, processing and cultivation practices.

In the spirit of co-operation and respect, any conflicts that arise in the market will be dealt with in a timely and fair manner, with the objective to reach a mutually agreeable solution. However, the market manager and/or market organizer has the right to dismiss a vendor from the market, should he/she fail to comply with market guidelines, or prove disruptive to a co-operative and positive market environment.

In the case of complex situations, the matter may proceed before the market committee. However, the market manager/organizer has the authority to make on-the-spot decisions.

Market management has the right to change and amend market guidelines as necessary.

GENERAL MARKET GUIDELINES Although the primary directive of the market is to connect urban eaters with local farmers and food producers, we want to encourage other forms of local economic development. To support local farmers, and to keep in line with the goal to have as high a content of local ingredients as possible, we encourage makers of processed and/or value added foods to purchase, whenever possible, local produce offered by farmers at the market for the production of their value added goods.

Waste Management The market has agreed with City authorities to keep waste at a minimum, and all vendors are asked to leave the park area as clean as possible, and take any refuse with them. The garbage and recycling bins on site are reserved for customers and other park users.

Vehicle Access Vehicles are allowed in the park during unloading and loading times only, and have to be accompanied by a designated individual during entering and exiting in order to ensure that there are no incidents between the vehicles and park users, animals, or Parks property. Vehicles have to remain on the paved driveways at all times. Free parking is available on residential streets surrounding Withrow Park, and in the Holy Name Catholic School parking lot (across from the market) on a first come first served basis.

Vendors have to be ready to sell for 9 a.m. (no sales before this time are allowed), and must remain open until 1 p.m. unless sold out.

FRESH PRODUCE (including flowers and seeds) To reduce direct and destructive competition amongst vendors, priority will be given to vendors who are growing their own produce for sale. Once the primary producer has sold out, other vendors can start selling theirs. If two vendors want to sell the same produce, no distress or competitive pricing is permitted.

Farmers are allowed to sell 30% of produce from other local sources in the following circumstances:

• The market vendor is a grower/farmer who grows his/her produce on land owned by him/her or under his/her direct cultivation. He/she can purchase produce not cultivated on the farm from local certified organic, transitional or eco-farms located in his/her own respective community or neighbourhood;
• The vendor is a member of a farmers’ co-operative, in which case the market management requires a list of all the members of the co-operative and their produce/product, and requests that individual co-op members attend the market at least once during the season.
• The vendor is a farmer him/herself, but is also assisting a particular community that cannot access the market due to special circumstances (i.e. as in the case of Old Order Mennonites who use horses and carts for travel and transportation, in which case members of that community are required to attend the Market at least once during the season);
• The market manager/organizer may ask a farmer to find a local source of a particular produce for sale at the market if it is currently not cultivated by any of the farmers, but is in high demand by customers.

CERTIFICATION All vendors are encouraged to acquire organic certification, but the market will accept applications from farmers who are also non-certified organic growers, and who can demonstrate the use of ecological cultivation, pest and disease management practices, as well as growers transitioning from conventional to organic agriculture.

In case no organic certification has been obtained, vendors are required to provide detailed information about their cultivation methods in the form of written documentation. If you are an organic certified member, we encourage you to display your certification document. To stimulate consumer interest and to maintain a large degree of product variety and to reduce competition between vendors, the market management strongly encourages the cultivation of heirloom and unusual fruits and vegetables, as well as produce commonly used in a variety of ethnic cuisines.

MEAT, EGGS AND DAIRY

Eggs The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) requires “that all eggs retailed beyond the farm gate be graded”.

For more information visit http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/food/inspection/eggs/eggreginfo.htm or call: 1-877-424-1300 (toll free) or 519-826-4047 (local).

Any Market vendor selling eggs to the public has to raise the poultry laying the eggs him- or herself under humane and free-range conditions. Eggs can only be re-sold if the vendor is a member of a farmers’ co-operative, or the eggs belong in the 30% portion of a farmer’s/vendor’s product mix, and then only if they originate from a regional farm that fits the specified requirements.

Dairy Products Producers of dairy products (such as yoghurt and artisan cheeses) have to demonstrate either that the milk used for the production of cheeses and other dairy items are made either from the milk of cows, sheep or goats raised on a farm directly under the vendor’s ownership and/or management/cultivation, or that the milk has been obtained from regional and organic sources. The dairy products have to be manufactured in a licensed plant, and the animals have to be raised in humane/cruelty free and preferably free-range and/or grass-fed conditions.

Meat “In Ontario, no one can sell, transport, deliver or distribute meat unless:

• The animal was inspected prior to slaughter (antemortem), approval for slaughter in accordance with the Meat Regulation, and the carcass was inspected following slaughter (post-mortem) and was approved for use as food in accordance with the Meat Regulation or the regulations under the Meat Inspection Act (Canada);
• The animal was slaughtered in a plant operated by a provincially licensed operator or a federally registered establishment; and
• The meat is stamped, labelled or tagged with an inspection legend.”

For more information pertaining to the purchase, sale, processing and handling of meat and meat products please see http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/food/inspection/meatinsp/resp-under-meat.htm.

Fresh meats have to be properly refrigerated, and can only be sold by farmers themselves. Producers of value added meat products like sausages, bacon, ham, etc. do not have to be farmers themselves, but their product has to be made from meats that were purchased from an inspected organic or ecological Ontario source.

The source of all meat at the market should come from farm animals that have been treated humanely and raised in a cruelty free environment, and have been given either organic feed, have been free-range, grass-fed, or pasture raised.

PROCESSED, PREPARED, AND OTHER FOODS All makers and vendors of processed, prepared and other foods have to comply with Provincial, Federal, and Public Health regulations and food safety standards that pertain to their respective product(s). Further, the market management requires the address of the commercial or inspectable kitchen used for production/processing.

Processed Foods Processed, value added and preserved foods may be sold at the Market as long as the foods are produced in an inspectable kitchen, and the producer is abiding by Toronto Public Health (TPH) guidelines and ensures the proper preparation, storage and handling of such products for the safety of Market customers. Vendors belonging to this category will be provided with TPH guidelines when applying for a market stall, and are required to obtain a Food Handler Certification.

On-Site Prepared Foods Any vendor selling food items that are being prepared on-site during market hours for direct consumption or take-away, has to follow TPH guidelines in the preparation, proper handling and storing of such foods, and is required to obtain a Food Handler Certification, and to have a hand washing station in their booth.

Wild and Gathered Foods All wild and gathered foods have to be harvested sustainably and with permission from the owner of the land where they were harvested from. This does NOT include pick-your-own harvesting operations on commercial farms and orchards!

Other Food Products Food products that do not belong to the groups listed above can be sold at the Market as long as the producer can demonstrate an adequate reason why that product should be represented at the Market. These products may include commodities such as coffee, tea and chocolate, amongst others, and have been produced organically and under fair trade conditions.

OTHER PRODUCTS Hand-made crafts and art may be sold during special events or by invitation only (the exceptions are wool and sheep skins that can be sold on regular market days by the sheep farmer him/herself), and have to be approved by the market management.

Locally handmade soaps and body care products can be sold at the market by the producer or his/her representative.

If you have a product that is not listed in this document, enquire with the market management.

AT ALL TIMES IT IS AT THE DISCRETION OF THE MARKET MANAGER AND/OR ORGANIZER TO ACCEPT OR REFUSE CERTAIN PRODUCTS.

PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT WE REQUEST THAT ALL VENDORS HAVE THEIR OWN LIABILITY INSURANCE, SINCE THE MARKET IS NOT COVERED FOR ANY COMPLICATIONS THAT MAY ARISE FROM THE CONSUMPTION OF FOOD SOLD THERE.

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Content last modified on July 28, 2011, at 01:49 PM EST