Farm gate food may not be from the farm

FRANKFORD, Ont. (02/08/11) Susan Vanden Bosch of WillowCreek Farms on Frankford Road doesn't sell food sourced from a terminal at either one of her fresh produce stands. "That's what grocery stores are for," she said in an interview. Photo by Renee Rodgers.

By Renée Rodgers

WillowCreek Farms lost an entire patch of cucumbers to heavy rain this year.

Yet Susan Vanden Bosch, who runs the Frankford Road farm with her husband and three sons, said she won’t be supplementing her produce stand with food terminal vegetables – something she’s seen other local vendors do.

The Ontario Food Terminal in Toronto is the largest wholesale fruit and produce distribution centre in Canada. The 40-acre terminal is a main provider of fresh produce to large grocery stores but some small produce vendors also buy produce at the terminal to sell at their fruit and vegetable stands.

As a result, some produce stand vendors may be selling the same fruits and vegetables carried by major grocery stores and passing them off as local farm fresh goods.

That’s something Vanden Bosch has a problem with.

“It’s very hard work what we (farmers) do,” she said. “We have to be very committed. We are in the fields from sunup to sundown right from spring to fall and we work really hard. So when people just drive to Toronto and get a truckload of stuff and sit at the side of the road masquerading as a fresh produce stand, that’s a really big pet peeve.”

Yet the practice of selling food from a terminal is not as uncommon as one might think, said Jackie Tapp, chair of the Belleville Farmers’ Market Vendors Association. ‘Farm gate’ produce stands aren’t always what they seem.

“Farm gate doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the farm that grew the stuff,” said Tapp. “I know of a lot of farm gates that go to Toronto and get stuff.”

Tapp also said it’s possible some of the produce sold at the Belleville Farmers’ Market comes from a terminal.

“We don’t encourage it,” she said. “There’s no bylaw against it. We do have a couple of vendors that do.”

Belleville Farmers’ Market bylaws stipulate goods for sale must be grown or processed in Ontario. Bylaws don’t specify, however, that all produce must be sourced directly from a farm.

Yet several interviews with vendors at the Belleville Farmers’ Market revealed that many are against the practice of selling produce from terminals.

“Everything on our table we grow,” said Jennifer Black, from County Isle Farms on Huffs Island Road. She added that nothing at her stall came from a food terminal.

Sandy Vader, of Vader Farms in Cherry Valley, said while a few things at her stand came from other farms – her blueberries, for example, came from a farm in Waupoos – nothing was sourced from a terminal.

“We tell people exactly where everything comes from,” Vader said.

Vanden Bosch, who also sells blueberries from another Frankford farm, said her customers are often very concerned about where her produce has come from.

“There’s been a real awareness in the last four or five years,” she said. “The whole thing of knowing where your food comes from and knowing what has gone into it.”

Asking produce stand vendors where their food comes from is a good first step to determining its source, she said. But, according to Vanden Bosch, the best way to find an honest vendor could be taking a closer look at his or her hands.

“Our customers know our stuff is grown here,” she said. “I mean, look at my hands. They’re a mess, right? I’m a farmer.”