Onsite Farmer’s Market to Promote Healthy Eating
August 5th to 11th is Farmer’s Market Week! Have you thought about hosting an onsite Farmer’s Market at your workplace?
Good Things Grow in Ontario!
Hosting an onsite Farmer’s Market at the workplace makes it easier for employees to access fresh fruits and vegetables.
Check out this list from Foodland Ontario to see all of the produce that can be grown right here in Ontario!
Reasons to Host a Market at the Workplace
Hosting an onsite Farmer’s Market at the workplace can be a fun, regular addition to your wellness program. Depending on your demographic or the interests of your employees, you can choose to position your market in a few ways:
- benefits of eating local
- easy access & eating more fruits and vegetables
- supporting area farmers
- positive impact on the environment
Benefits of Eating Local
Local food at a Farmer’s Market is usually fresher, as it takes less travel time for it to get to the consumer. Many people would say this means local food tastes better.
Local food is also usually less expensive because it does not need to pass through as many hands/distribution channels to get to the customer.
Easy Access and Promoting Fruits and Vegetables
One of the barriers to healthy eating is the inconvenience and lack of cooking skills. By providing an onsite market to your employees, you’re removing the barrier of inconvenience – your employees can pick out their items and skip the trip to the grocery store (or the takeout counter!) after work.
To help those who lack cooking skills, host your market event with a recipe contest or set up a recipe sharing group. Have employees submit their favourite recipes using the produce that’s available at the market to help inspire others. You might just find some new ideas – rutabaga fries, grilled garlic scapes or a tomato & watermelon salad!
If budget allows, you could choose to offer a set amount of free produce to employees. Choose a featured item to distribute, and provide a recipe card or ideas on how to prepare the item.
Supporting Area Farmers
If community support is something that your company values, this is a great way to position your market.
Choosing fresh and delicious local foods helps to create jobs and supports our economic growth in Ontario. IT also builds a strong sense of community by supporting Ontario’s farmers and businesses. Every time you buy local, you make a positive impact. (Foodland Ontario)
Supporting the Environment
According to Eat Right Ontario, “buying local food supports farmers, which helps to preserve farmland and ensures we have a supply of high quality, nutritious food.”
Ontario farmers take pride in being good stewards of the land, helping to preserve it for future generations.
When local food is out of season, you can still support Canadian farmers by buying frozen or canned varieties that have ‘Product of Canada’ on the package.
Is local food the same as organic?
Organic is how the food was produced, local is where it was produced.
There is not enough evidence to say that organic foods are more or less nutritious than non-organic foods. Foods like vegetables, fruit, whole grains, lean meats, low-fat dairy products, legumes, and eggs are all nutritious whether they are organically grown or not.
In short, don’t sweat it! Consuming more fruits and vegetables is of more importance than the method used to grow it.