Frontenac Farmers Market ready to wrap up successful season

Jenna Leslie | Oct 19, 2016

“This is food I grew up with,” said local farmer, Ernie Sands of Sands Produce from Battersea, in regards to all the organic, locally grown products for sale at the Frontenac Farmers’ Market (FFM).

The FFM has been a hot spot in the township ever since it first opened up in 2005.

The market and its vendors have been providing customers with local, organic produce and homemade goods for 11 years now and they show no signs of slowing down.

In 2014, the market moved from its old location at the Verona Lions Centre on Sand Road to the parking lot at Prince Charles Public School on the much busier Road 38, and business has increased significantly.

According to Sands, the vendors now see anywhere from 200 to 400 people pass through their little market on a good day.

Merchandise available at the market ranges from fresh fruits and vegetables to hand-made crafts. One can find almost anything on their grocery list at the market and for a comparable price as in regular grocery stores.

Father and son, Ernie and Eugene Sands of Sands Produce, are just a couple of the local farmers who keep markets like this in business. The two of them have been a part of the market ever since it was first introduced to the township.

Eugene Sands says that they keep a close eye on prices in the grocery store to ensure their prices are comparable for their customers. He sees great importance in local markets in communities like this.

“The biggest thing is getting people educated on what they’re buying in the stores compared to what you can get at the market,” Sands said. “Yes there are disadvantages; there might be some blemishes and stuff like that. But the positives are the taste and that it’s local. It hasn’t been sitting in a warehouse or been shipped from half way across the countryside.“

Sands encourages people to take the time to come to the market for groceries.

The work of farmers’ markets is twofold: to keep local farmers in business and to provide the community with healthy, organic products. “We want to be needed here,” said Eugene Sands. The only way this is possible is with the community’s support.

The market season is quickly coming to an end, with the last one to take place on October 29, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the usual Prince Charles Public School location.