Kathy and Kevin Beamish have a sweet spot for farmers’ markets.
The co-owners of Beamish Honey, located in Horseshoe Valley north of Barrie, aren’t big enough to mass produce the golden nectar for supermarkets. They have 80 hives divided between four farms in Oro-Medonte and they harvest by hand.
Farmers’ markets, they say, are their lifeline to success.
So they were disappointed when they heard the Springwater Farmers’ Market in Elmvale was no longer being backed by the township after council decided to end its support of the market, and the part-time employee who managed it, at a regular meeting of council on Oct. 4.
“It’s funny, when we were coming out of the pandemic, the only thing they (the government) cared about was supporting local,” Kathy said. “It was all ‘shop local’ — nothing else mattered. Well, the economy hasn’t picked up, so where is that support now?”
In December 2020, the Ontario government announced $4.4 million in funding to support the long-term sustainability of the province’s tourism industry through the Reconnect Festival and Event Program and the Tourism Economic Development Recovery Fund.
Six months later, the feds announced $33 million in ‘shop local’ funding, with almost $9 million earmarked for Ontario programs.
The money was doled out to chambers of commerce across the country and used for shop-local branding and digital content. It was used to create seasonal campaigns intended to direct shoppers to local small merchants. Millions of dollars worth of videos, social media visuals as well as radio and newspaper ads encouraged consumers to buy from local businesses and patronize local restaurants and attractions.
“Not supporting the market is the exact opposite of what they should be doing,” said Beth Havers, founder of Aunt Beth’s Whisky Cookies, one of a number of vendors who joined the Elmvale market for the first time this past season. “Most, if not all, of the vendors are small businesses, most of them are just starting out.
“Farmers’ markets are one of the few routes available to a small business to build their brand. We go to 12 to 15 markets a week," she added.
Havers said the Elmvale market is one of the smaller ones she attends, but its value is beyond the dollars and cents it brings in — it’s about building a brand that is authentic and true to its roots.
“We’ve been doing farmers’ markets since 2020 and they’re vital to getting our product known,” she said.
Springwater Township councillors Matt Garwood and Brad Thompson aren’t prepared to let the farmers’ market go without a fight. They think it’s an important part of the community and they’re not prepared to give up on it.
Garwood represents Elmvale and says he has been a supporter of the farmers’ market for more than a dozen years. He said the local farmers’ market is vital to the character of the community.
“Our community is not our community without the farmers’ market,” Garwood said. “For our older residents especially, the market is a meeting spot. It’s their only social outing.”
Thompson believes township council’s recent decision on the farmers’ market was “short-sighted.”
“I was quite surprised and not at all pleased,” he said. “We had a budget of $33,000 for this and only spent $15,000. How can this not be considered a good thing?”
According to Jeff Schmidt, Springwater Township’s chief administrative officer, council’s Oct. 4 decision is not carved in stone.
He said the township could support another community group if they wanted to take over the farmers’ market.
“There are alternatives and we would certainly look at or consider helping another group, if there is interest,” he said following the Oct. 4 decision.
“We’ll figure out a way to keep the market going,” said Thompson. “We haven’t given up yet.”
