John Dance

Poised to make a major move into the new market stalls
of Grande Allée Park, the Main Farmers’ Market (MFM)
is about to take a second giant step that will ensure that it
remains an enduring part of the fabric of Old Ottawa East
(OOE).
The MFM Board of Directors has concluded a management
arrangement with Ottawa Farmers’ Market (OFM) that
will see the popular Main Street market become one of
five farmers’ markets across the City of Ottawa managed
under the OFM umbrella. OFM is also the manager of the
Lansdowne, Westboro, Orléans and Barrhaven farmers’
markets.

With its motto “from the heart of the land to the heart of the city,” OFM is a producer-only organization that features over 150 vendors within an area of 100 kilometres. According to its website, it provides “an opportunity to buy the freshest local products the season has to offer directly from the people who produce them.”

Under the new OFM management, MFM will relocate this coming May to Grande Allée Park that was constructed along the tree-lined heritage laneway linking Main Street to the Deschâtelets Building, the future home of Au Coeur d’Ottawa school and the new OOE community centre.

A history of relocation
Over its 18-year history, MFM has had to relocate twice to accommodate Main Street reconstruction and the availability of parking lots. Unlike the Grande Allée, none of the locations had such features as anchors for canopies nor were any of the stalls in the shade of large maples like the ones along the Allée.

MFM was originally set up as a nonprofit, community-run market, one of the only ones of its kind in the province.

Volunteer board members have worked hard over the years to maintain the market’s viability, but the challenges of the last few years, including COVID, Main Street reconstruction and the need to attract additional vendors for the 46 stalls of the Allée, resulted in MFM reaching out to OFM to see if it would be a good fit.

Sue Cavanaugh, chair and long-time member of the MFM board, is “really excited” about the future of the local market. She says most of the same vendors are expected to return, and the market will retain the same neighbourhood vibe, now with the support of the largest producer-run organization in the region.

Steph Kittmer of the Ottawa Farmers’ Market and Sue Cavanaugh, chair of the Main Farmers’ Market, are looking forward to Old Ottawa East’s market relocating to the Grande Allee Park. Photo by John Dance

Steph Kittmer, OFM’s general manager, is no stranger to OOE. As a master’s student at Carleton University, she made major contributions to the “Deep Green” initiative that Sustainable Living Ottawa East launched to establish sustainable goals for the development of OOE’s institutional lands. She was also a vendor at the MFM for four years.

Asked how the Main Street market will work relative to the OFM’s much larger market at Lansdowne, Kittmer notes that the two markets provide different experiences, and Cavanaugh says the two markets will “complement” one another. Indeed, because MFM operates on
Saturdays and the Lansdowne market is on Sundays, local residents can visit both markets or they can go to the one on the day that best works for them.

Heather Syposz, one of the four partners of the popular Agricola Cooperative Farm, which has been a core vendor at the MFM, says they are looking forward to the new management under OFM. “While we have never attended an OFM market before, we admire the markets that they run and we hope that they will be able to guide us successfully through the move to the Grande Allée. We are committed to our Old Ottawa East community and to the Main Street market and are hopeful the market will thrive in its new spot.”

Smooth transition expected
“As the vendor representative to the MFM board this past year, I was able to voice the concerns of vendors and stay up to date with the plans for the transfer,” says Syposz. “Steph [Kittmer] from OFM has been super receptive to working with the existing MFM vendors to maintain continuity and community at the market.”

Agricola Cooperative Farm, a popular core vendor at the Main Farmer’s Market, remains committed to Old Ottawa East and is excited about theinvolvement of Ottawa Farmer’s Market. Photo Supplied

The relocated market will have challenges adapting to the new site but it’s similar to the Aberdeen Square configuration at Lansdowne so, with OFM experience, a smooth transition is expected. Parking is not seen as much of an issue. “Parking as an issue has mostly faded away,” says Cavanaugh, noting that many more people now bike and walk to the market. In the absence of public washrooms with the new park, OFM plans on having portable toilets.

Both Cavanaugh and Kittmer express their appreciation to The Regional Group, which has long supported a farmers’ market in OOE. Similarly, they acknowledge the important role the Green Door has played by providing its parking lot as a market location for the last number of years.

“A good, local farmers’ market is a vital part of a healthy community,” says Cavanaugh. “More than anything the MFM board wanted to make sure that our market survives and continues to serve the people in our neighbourhood. We are very optimistic that under the OFM umbrella it will do just that.”