Mainstreeter Staff
Have you heard the great news? The Main Farmers’ Market is back, ready to provide the people of Old Ottawa East, and the surrounding communities, with locally grown and produced food.
The Farmers’ Market will be open every Saturday, from May 30 to October 31, at 210 Main Street (in the Green Door parking lot). Opening hours this year are 9 a.m. to noon to start the season, but those hours may change as the pandemic takes its own course, so it’s best to check the www.mainfarmersmarket.org website or follow the Farmers’ Market on social media to get the most up-to-date information.
Clearly, it’s been a challenging spring—for everyone. According to Sue Cavanaugh, the Chair of the Main Farmers’ Market Board of Directors, her group of community volunteers has been especially engaged. “Back in February, the market board and manager were busy planning a season full of fresh food, music, new vendors, and fun events. Needless to say, those plans had to be put on hold,” she says.
“But if there’s one thing this pandemic has made clear, it’s that the Farmers’ Market mission of supporting local farmers, bakers and other producers is more important than ever. Our market board members believe strongly that encouraging and nurturing a local food supply is not just a nice thing to do, it’s the right thing to do” states Cavanaugh.
The Farmers’ Market has been working closely with Ottawa Public Health and has been approved to reopen, with strict safety protocols in place. For the first part of the season (at least), there will be no shopping on Saturdays – instead, orders must be placed online beforehand, with a market day reserved for pickup only.
Cavanaugh notes that shoppers will notice hand-sanitizing stations, a limited number of people allowed into the market at any given time, and clear markings in place to help everyone to keep 2 metres apart while in the market space. Volunteers will be on hand if shoppers have any questions or concerns.
Ordering is easy, Cavanaugh says, and is open from Monday to Thursday for Saturday pickup. To order, shoppers should go to localline.ca/main-streetmarket to create an account and then fill their cart with fresh produce, baked goods, meats, honey, eggs, and more. More vendors will be coming online each week as their products become available, so shoppers should check in regularly.
Cavanaugh and the market board were particularly grateful for the support of The Green Door Restaurant, without whose parking lot there would be no home for the market. “And we thank all of our loyal vendors and customers for sticking with us. We cannot wait to see all of them this season, from an appropriate distance, of course,” she notes.
For up-to-date information about this year’s vendors, check the www.mainfarmersmarket.org website, and follow the Farmer’s Market on Facebook (mainfarmmarket613), Twitter (@mainfarmmarkott
) or Instagram (mainmarketottawa).
