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Plateau freshHealth and eco-conscious Mile Enders
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Although many of us have begun to shop all year round at Montreal’s permanent indoor/outdoor markets, there is still something very exciting about the smaller, community-based projects that seem to multiply across the city with each passing summer. Whether it’s the consumer mentality towards local food that is shifting or the sense of community that is brought on by having a weekly gathering of farmers at our doorstep, local, seasonal, sustainable and farm fresh should really be on everyone’s menus this summer. For the second year in a row, Marché Fermier (previously the Duluth Street Market) is setting up shop with over 25 kiosks offering some of the best of what Quebec farmers and producers have to offer. This year, they are expanding to a second location in Mile End. Affiliated with the House of Friendship, this non-profit organization aims to bring food and community back to the neighbourhood. Sabine Alpers, a young, ambitious Montreal import from Germany, is at the head of this project that combines food, music, cooking and education into one big outdoor party. Alpers embarked on this project last year with the hopes that a more European approach to farm fresh produce would benefit North American eaters. “The quality of our food here in Quebec is really good, and with no middle man between the farmers and the customer, we can offer better prices,” she says. As well as fruits and vegetables, Marché Fermier offers artisan breads, cheeses, eggs, meats, honey wine, Quebec wine, ciders and preserves, most produced within an hour of the city. “At the Plateau market, there is a lamb specialist, goat sausages and a guy who does guinea fowl, and in Mile End there is a guy who does beef with no pesticides or hormones. We have chefs like Martin Picard who come out and love it.”
To contribute to this 18-week long outdoor market atmosphere, there is live music, workshops (like how to can, preserve and compost food), and a chef challenge at each location. “There is a theme to every market week and we invite a chef to hook up with one of the producers based on that theme, like honey or wild mushrooms,” says Alpers. “We have a cooking station where the chef makes one dish using that ingredient and sells it for $5–$10.” They also produce a three-minute documentary each week centred around their theme. “With the market, we bring the farmers to the city, but with the documentary, we bring the people to the farm,” she says. Marché Fermier’s bottom line is that they want good food to be accessible. What Montrealers don’t realize is that we can eat local, and only local, for five solid months of the year. “Here we are going to the store and buying organic lettuce from California, but why?” asks Alpers. “The global food issue is very serious, if we don’t start supporting local produce, we will run out of food. We can’t start changing the system when it’s too late.” THE PLATEAU MARKET IS AT 4265
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Whether you live in NDG, Little Burgundy or Montreal North, you won’t have to go too far to find a local farmers’ market popping up close to your ’hood. Despite the popular, year-round heavy hitters like the Jean-Talon, Atwater, Lachine and Maisonneuve markets, there are plenty of other options to beat the crowds, spend less money and support small scale, local farming. It’s still early in the growing season and makeshift stalls are constantly being set up, but here is a preliminary run down of what’s on offer this summer. Ranging from fruit and vegetable vendors, to meats, cheeses and specialty products to weekly farmers’ baskets, the collective aim of these markets and organizations is to encourage the link between the farmers and the consumer and put a face (and a conscience) to the food we’re buying. Setting up stalls in parks, parking lots, schoolyards, community centres and even outside metro stations, the idea is that local fruits and vegetables should be available to everyone, regardless of location or socio-economic status.
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