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| Photos: Kristina Sparkes and VanierNow |
by Chris Cline
With summer 2013 officially a wrap, local farmers' markets are looking forward to the end of the harvest season and the conclusion of the selling year. This summer was a notable one for farmers' markets in Vanier, but not in a positive way. For the first time in five years, the neighbourhood went without a market due to an unexpected cancellation by the Quartier Vanier Merchants Association in July.
It's hard to deny the disappointment felt by many in the neighbourhood in the wake of the cancellation. The story received ample coveragein the media, and many of the farmers and vendors who were suddenly left without a dependable market in Vanier complained about the loss of revenue. But instead of resting on their laurels or abandoning the neighbourhood altogether, many found different ways to bring their wares to Vanier residents.
I recently had a chat with Rick Karayanis, a farmer at Rock 'n' Root Farm and a long-time vendor at the Vanier farmers' market. He and his colleagues at Rock 'n' Root were among the most vocal upon the cancellation of the market this year, and their media visibility managed to land them an opportunity to keep selling in the east-end over the summer. They received a call from Susan Jacobson with an offer to set up shop outside her specialty food store, Jacobsons, at the corner of Beechwood and Acacia. Karayanis and his colleagues jumped at the idea, and were soon found selling their produce outside the shop on Saturdays.
Karayanis says that, at first, sales were slow going. There's a certain amount of public education needed to bring the neighbourhood's attention to a produce stall, and walk-by-traffic is key. Fortunately, things picked up quickly.
Before long, Karayanis says, Rock 'n' Root was selling more produce and making more money than they had at the Vanier farmers' market in previous years. It turns out that Jacobsons was a great fit. Customers shopping for ingredients at the shop could walk outside and buy fresh, local produce to complete their meal. By the end of the summer, Karayanis' stall was a welcome feature for neighbourhood dwellers.
Rock n' Root wasn't the only vendor to try this model in the wake of the farmers' market's cancellation. A number of vendors who were displaced by the cancellation of the Vanier market landed outside of Maison Baguettes Etc. on Montreal Road.
That a farmer could be successful simply by setting up a stall by the side of the road shouldn't come as a shock. Farmers have done this for years in rural areas. Take a drive on any of Ottawa's surrounding concession lines during the growing season and you'll be hard pressed not to find several fruit and produce vendors plying their wares as you pass by. But for this to happen in an urban setting is much rarer. The prevailing theory is that farmers' markets are needed in cities to draw customers to a centralized location. But the Rock 'n' Root/Jacobsons model is challenging this idea.
Karayanis says he is unsure if they'll ever return to a farmers' market in Vanier. It would need to provide high visibility and have a chance of drawing in more revenue than their current setup next to Jacobsons. So for now, with no farmers' market announcements on the immediate horizon for 2014, Rock 'n' Root is likely to stay put.
Note: For 2013, you can catch Rock ‘n’ Root one last time, on Saturday, October 12.