Dundas Farmers’ Market opens for 10th season

Organizing a return of the Dundas Farmers’ Market in 2009 was not easy, but when it finally started, Downtown Dundas Business Improvement Area president Phyllis Kraemer had no doubt it would be a success.

“It was time for it to be brought back,” Kraemer said on Thursday, June 7, as the market opened for its 10th straight season.

“The timing was perfect.”

She suggested the “farm to table” local food and healthy lifestyle movements were building at the same time, and people were looking for a direct connection to area farmers providing natural local food.

Kraemer said the market also provides a good connection to downtown businesses and merchants. It brings people to the centre of Dundas for social interaction, as well as shopping.

The Dundas Farmers’ Market operates every Thursday afternoon and evening, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., in the municipal parking lot at Hatt Street and Miller’s Lane to October.

A farmers market operated in different Dundas locations for almost 150 years before shutting down in the mid 1990s.

The version of the market entering its 10th season holds a special place for Sue Preston of Village Bakery.

When fire destroyed her downtown Dundas bakery in 2010, the weekly market was her main place of business, allowing her to remain connected to the community for a couple of years.

After she reopened in a new home in the spring of 2012, she continued appearing at the market.

“I love coming here. I get to see my customers. At the store, I’m stuck in the back,” Preston said. “It’s a great market. Just look at all the people here on the first day.”