Regent Park Farmer’s Market: Building a Stronger Community Together

Last Wednesday marked the official grand-opening of the Regent Park Farmer’s Market, located between Daniel’s Spectrum and One Park Place. Continuing until October 30th, every Wednesday from 3 to 7pm, merchants will set-up their booths and display fresh produce, various cultural foods, and local goodies for pedestrians to browse. In addition to the markets, local musicians and artists will perform weekly for event guests, adding to the fact the Regent Park Farmer’s Market is an exciting new development for all Torontonians to explore.

Daniel’s Corporation, in partnership with the Toronto Housing Community, introduced the new Regent Park Farmer’s Market as a pilot project in hopes of developing a stronger community. One of the market’s most distinguishable features is that it includes “all resident gardeners, growers, and chefs from the local community.” In light of their hospitality, local food merchants are encouraged to visit the Regent Park Farmer’s Market application page. Also outlined on the website, the Regent Park Farmer’s Market lists their current goals and objectives for this year:

• Offer residents sustainably-produced foods, fresh from local, environmentally conscious farmers and gardeners
  
• Increase community awareness concerning the benefits of buying local produce
• Inspire relationships and collaborations between different vendors in the Regent Park Farmer’s Market
• Provide an accessible means for buying affordable, healthy food products in support of the local economy

Among last Wednesday’s enthusiastic market-goers, TCH President and CEO Eugene Jones Jr. as well as Daniel’s Corp. Vice-President Martin Blake participated in the ceremonial cutting-of-the-vine. Joining the celebration, Paintbox Bistro, a nearby restaurant, prepared a few dishes on-the-fly for sampling, as a way to demonstrate the many different foods one can make with the ingredients from the market.  As many participants enjoyed the Paintbox Bistro’s recipes, hungry pedestrians were not short on selection. Amid baskets of fresh produce, stands sold various forms of cultural cuisine, truly displaying Regent Park’s great community diversity. Be sure to stop by next week to see what other great products are on-sale.