Yesterday, we took you on a journey through the six school food garden spaces cared for by our youth leaders this summer. Now, let’s delve into the distribution side of the project: the Markets!
The Youth Food Market is a series of pop up produce stalls, run by youth, in priority neighbourhoods. Youth are at the center of designing, planning, and executing the market – everything from marketing to produce ordering to day-of sales and customer service – while building confidence and leadership skills.
The project began way back in 2021 with just two Market days, one in each July and August. Ten youth gathered to carry out a market at Seven Shores Community Cafe in Uptown Waterloo, just two blocks from our office. The following two years, that number doubled each year and in 2024, we had reached a total of 11 Market days at two priority locations selected in collaboration with Public Health.
This year, the Market grew significantly once again to a total of 21 Market days across three locations in Kitchener and Cambridge, and operated using a pay-what-you-choose model of selling fresh, local produce from farm partners and school garden teams.
We also joined forces with the Cambridge Food Bank for the Cambridge location at rare Charitable Research Reserve, the start of exciting and valuable partnerships with organizations leading the way in equitable, sustainable food access. The other two locations were our long-standing spot at Eastwood C.I. that we cherish immensely, and a new location at the Victoria Hills Community Centre.
Ahead of the main season, youth participants take part in training, field trips, learning opportunities, and collaborative sessions to plan and prepare for the Markets. In all, 15 Market Leaders ran the 21 Market days, selling and donating a total of at least 900 pounds of produce, making $1635 in gross revenue, and contributing 60 hours to planning 165 hours to community based learning.
Learn more about each of the Markets and the teams below!
EASTWOOD MARKET
We really felt the love at Eastwood this summer! Our community came out week after week to support us, with many dedicated customers coming to multiple markets in a row! We’re so glad to have returned to the Eastwood neighbourhood for another summer of delicious produce, and we hope to be back next year.
This season, Eastwood was supplied by Little Fields Farm as well as our very own Eastwood school garden – located only 180 metres from our market table! Talk about local produce! Some of the best-selling products this summer were zucchini, green onions, and garlic. The market also sold many interesting fruits and vegetables that were new to our youth volunteers, such as ground cherries and Japanese eggplants!
Speaking of our awesome youth volunteers, the Eastwood market had 6 market leaders who took turns making it all happen. They demonstrated incredible teamwork and perseverance, especially when the market got rained out – three different times! Our volunteers also honed their skills in customer service and public speaking, and did a great job telling the community all about the YFS program. All of the volunteers’ hard work was put on display when CTV News Kitchener visited the market on August 5th, and they got a chance to be on the local news!
Thank you to all of our customers, volunteers, and community members for making our markets so amazing.
We couldn’t do it without you!
VICTORIA HILLS MARKET
The market at Victoria Hills was a huge success this summer. It was our first season at this location (and our first time partnering with Green Hart Farms), and we were thrilled to see so many customers each week. Some were brand new to our markets and others had visited our other locations in the past. We also had Nurture youth stop by, along with many community members who heard about us through the WR Record.
Our youth team built countless skills over the season, from customer service to marketing and money management, all while connecting with people from across the community. The market also featured a wide variety of produce. While we started without fruit, introducing fresh fruit each week from St. Jacob’s quickly became a highlight. A group of local youth came by weekly to pick up our extra fruit and their hands-down favorite was the peaches.
We also introduced customers to unique produce items like tomatillos, ground cherries, and fennel. To help people try these new foods, our market leaders created recipe cards that sparked excitement and curiosity. Overall, Victoria Hills quickly became a vibrant hub of community, food, and learning.
BLAIR MARKET
The Blair Market youth dove headfirst into their first market experience, welcoming a steady stream of customers while learning to navigate both their roles and the setup of their stall. They quickly discovered what worked best for them, creating an inviting and engaging booth.
Throughout their time at the market, they engaged with customers and neighbouring vendors, sharing information about YFS and their involvement. Each, developing their own way to describe their experience, gaining confidence along the way! They analyzed what produce sold well and listened to customers’ feedback, gathering insight into what people wanted to see in future markets. Produce for the Market came from New Leaf Market Garden and the two Cambridge school gardens: St Benedict and Galt!
They shared laughs and smiles along the way, building connections with each other and the community they served.
And a thank-you to our partners and funders:
Peter Gilgan Foundation
Gore Mutual
Kindred Credit Union
Spark Potential Canada
Grand River Agricultural Society
iA Financial Group
Kitchener Conestoga Rotary Club
Rotary Waterloo
The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation
R. Howard Webster Foundation
The Peterborough K.M. Hunter Charitable Foundation