Fall is now upon us, and we’re reminiscing on a beautiful, productive summer of the Youth Food Market. Back in late August, we said goodbye to the youth and the spaces that brought the summer to life, and now we’re ready to share with you some of the highlights of their summer as Market Leaders!
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, and contributing to a thriving local food system.
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. Then, in 2025, we added a third location and ran a total of 21 Market days across 3 locations over 7 weeks.
Building on the momentum from last year, our youth teams once again planned to run 21 Market days across three locations in Kitchener and Cambridge, operating a pay-what-you-choose model of selling fresh, local produce from farm partners and school garden teams (more on this tomorrow!)
What did the season look like for the youth leaders?
Spring field trips
Between March 18th and May 9th, youth leaders had a total of 8 opportunities to take part in field trips alongside staff, community food leaders, and local organizations:
✨ Tour and Kitchen Experiences with The Working Centre
✨ Sugar Bush Experience with Wisahkotewinowak Collective
✨ Tour & Food Prep Workshop with Community Healthcaring KW
✨ St. Jacob’s / Cambridge Farmers Market Visits & Scavenger Hunts
✨ Indigenous Food Prep Workshop at FoodZen
✨ Visit & Prep Work at Little Fields Farm
✨ Visit & Hands-On Exploration at Granskou Greens
| “Had so much fun at the Farmers Market! We got to talk to so many vendors and got to take a little peek inside their mind!!!” “There’s a lot of passion and therapeutic feelings when it comes to being involved with your community.” “Cooking together, learning together.” “The farmers market was extremely informative and gave a lot of inspiration for our markets.” “The entire event was so rewarding. It was so cold, but there’s a type of feeling that comes with being apart of the production of something Canada holds so dearly.” |
Pre-season training days
On May 23rd and June 6th, youth leaders gathered for 2 half-day trainings, at Eastwood C.I. and Huron Heights S.S. to further inspire the development of their Markets and gardens. During these get-togethers, they participated in:
✨ Team building activities and group reflections
✨ Photography workshop – to prepare for capturing their experiences
✨ Garden stations – watering, space optimization, pruning, tool safety
✨ Climate and identity discussions with The Ripple Effect Education
✨ Pay-what-you-choose design thinking workshop
✨ Team scheduling and Mentor meet-ups
✨ Lunches courtesy of delicious local businesses
| “Training day number two!! Had such a blast talking with new people that I thought I would never talk to, and I hope I made a few new friends. I liked the workshops a lot more than I thought I would; the conversations that we had were really thought-provoking and engaging :))” “I loved the discussions we had, a lot of meaningful perspectives, which reinforces what we learned about empathy and critical thinking.” “We enjoyed thinking of ideas and building on previous ones for our Markets and how garden and market leaders can communicate effectively. Also, our market, being at a community centre sparked ideas for how we can meet the customers needs and incentives.” |
Team Meetups
Following the training days, Market Leaders met in their individual teams to turn their ideas into plans for the summer. They got to know their teammates, worked through their schedules and roles, talked about what they wanted their Markets to look and feel like, and made decisions about everything from promotion and customer engagement to their Pay-What-You-Choose approach. These smaller team meetups gave youth a chance to take more ownership of their individual Markets and get ready to welcome their communities in July.
The Markets
With field trips, training days, and meet-ups under their belts, youth leaders were prepared to dive into what the summer was all about: Getting fresh, locally grown, accessibly priced produce into the hands of community members in Waterloo Region. In all, 27 Market Leaders ran 19 Market days*, selling and donating a total of at least 1500 pounds of produce to 266 customers, making $2740 in gross revenue, and contributing 355 hours planning for, promoting, and leading the Youth Food Market. An additional 1100 pounds of produce was donated to community organizations such as Community Healthcaring KW, The Bridges, Forest Heights Community Centre, Cambridge Food Bank and the Community Fridge KW.
* Wildfire smoke meant that the first two Markets of the season had to be cancelled for everyone’s safety and wellbeing.
Learn more about each Market location & team below!
VICTORIA HILLS
The Victoria Hills Market was full of fresh produce, familiar faces, and plenty of opportunities to try something new! Located at Victoria Hills Community Centre, the Market became a weekly presence for visitors and neighbourhood residents, with returning customers helping create a strong sense of community over the summer. Over the course of the summer, 10 Market Leaders ran 6 Market days at Victoria Hills, recording 85 customer purchases and distributing/selling 1016 pounds of fresh, local produce.
Peaches, blueberries, corn, and zucchini were among the best sellers, while customers also discovered less familiar items like tromboncino squash, hollyhock and nasturtium flowers, Swiss chard, collard greens, perilla leaves, and cantaloupe. The team used a flexible Pay-What-You-Choose approach: customers were first given a suggested total for their produce and then invited to increase or decrease the amount based on what felt right for them. This gave customers a clear starting point while keeping fresh, local food accessible. But the Market was about much more than produce. The team enjoyed welcoming regular customers who returned week after week and connecting with other community members, including City Councillor Margaret, Carla from Rogers TV, and garden mentor Nancy. There was also plenty of laughter as youth figured out pricing, created reels, learned from one another, and grew more confident working as a team.
There were challenges too. When faced with a difficult recurring customer interaction, the youth learned to communicate with one another, establish consistent guidelines, stay calm, and stand their ground while remaining respectful. It became a valuable lesson in teamwork, boundaries, and customer service. As the team put it, their summer was about “giving back to the community, making fresh local produce more accessible, learning new skills, meeting new people, and making memories together along the way.”
EASTWOOD
The Eastwood team brought plenty of energy, creativity, and laughter to their market this summer. Set up just outside Eastwood Collegiate Institute and close to the Eastwood garden, the Market created a welcoming neighbourhood space where community members could stop by for affordable local produce and connect with the youth running it. The location also created a direct connection between growing and selling, with produce grown and harvested by youth in the nearby garden making its way to the Market. Over the course of the summer, 8 Market Leaders ran 6 Market days at Eastwood, recording 84 customer purchases and distributing/selling 761 pounds of fresh, local produce.
Peaches, corn, and broccoli were among their most popular items, while tomatillos offered customers an opportunity to discover something a little different. They also welcomed plenty of four-legged visitors, with furry neighbourhood friends becoming a fun part of their market days! Eastwood used suggested prices as a starting point for its Pay-What-You-Choose model, encouraging customers to pay more or less depending on what they were comfortable with.
The team also learned to adapt quickly. On one occasion, customers began arriving before the market was fully set up. The youth responded by using their break-even pricing as a guide while explaining the Pay-What-You-Choose model to customers. Experiences like this helped them become more comfortable thinking on their feet and communicating how their market worked. The team’s creativity, talent, and enthusiasm helped make each Market day memorable. Their summer, in their own words, was “full of laughter, jokes, and a sense of giving back to the community.”
FIDDLESTICKS
The Fiddlesticks team spent their summer building community while introducing customers to fresh, local produce. Based at Fiddlesticks Community Centre, the Market benefited from the activity already happening around the space, including families coming and going from the daycare, a biweekly Wednesday food truck and other community members passing through. Over the course of the summer, 9 Market Leaders ran 7 Market days at Fiddlesticks, recording 97 customer purchases and distributing/selling 869 pounds of fresh, local produce.
Corn and peaches were the stars of the summer, while black currants, serviceberries, and ground cherries gave customers the chance to taste produce they may not encounter every day. For their Pay-What-You-Choose model, the team used suggested prices as a starting point, while customers could choose to pay that amount, more, or less based on what worked for them.
One memorable highlight was welcoming the Mayor of Cambridge to the Market! But some of the team’s best moments also came from learning how to respond when things didn’t go according to plan. During a slower market day, the youth decided to take action by handing out flyers to people enjoying the nearby park. Their efforts paid off, with community members and new customers coming over to visit the market and purchase produce. It was a summer of taking initiative, connecting with neighbours, and, as the team described it, “community building while trying yummy produce.”
And a thank-you to our community and charitable partners:
