Local food week a chance to build community

Jun 03, 2019

Staff Writer

Farms.com

Local food week aims to encourage consumers “to support our agriculture and food processing sector by choosing local and to enjoy all the amazing food grown and made right here in Ontario," said Ernie Hardeman, minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs, earlier today.

For producers, it’s also an opportunity for marketing and networking, Patricia Saunders, co-chair of the Essex County-based Amherstburg Farmers Market, told Farms.com.

“There’s a sense of community in farmers markets,” she said. “Consumers grow to understand that someone is out there working to provide them with their food. It doesn’t just show up in plastic at their grocery store.”

For producers, the community connection goes deeper.

This year, one of the largest vendors at the Amherstburg Farmers Market suffered a massive flood on the family farm. The water ran like a river across the field, Farms.com saw. The crop could not be saved.

The family received an “outpouring of support” from the ag community, Saunders said. Through years of involvement in the farmers market, the family had built up a network of professional connections and friends.

“Emergency situations need community,” Saunders said. “Farmers markets aren’t about buying and selling. They’re about helping each other when it’s needed. The excellent food is a bonus.”

The family, who didn’t want to have their identities revealed, also produces in greenhouses. The greenhouses were not affected by the flooding.

Heather Reid is a University of Guelph researcher. She studies networking within the ag sector.

“Farmers may not be able to form a big, broad network in the same way that, say, wineries do,” she told Farms.com. “But, when it comes to finding someone else or a group of other people who do something similar, it can be really, really valuable. It’s not just about the shared experience and knowledge, but it’s also about being able to gripe about the same things; complain and laugh as well.”

Ag producers need those connections in a year as challenging as 2019, Reid said.

Sharing local food is a good way to celebrate those connections, Saunders added.

Video: California Farm Bureau 2025 Farm Dog of the Year Contest Winner - Willy - CAFB 107th Annual Meeting

Meet Willy: California Farm Bureau’s 2025 Farm Dog of the Year!

We’re excited to introduce Willy, a miniature long-haired dachshund with a big heart and even bigger courage, and the Grand Prize winner of this year’s Farm Dog of the Year Contest!

Willy may be small, but he’s become an indispensable partner on owner Marshal Hagedorn’s forestry and cattle operations in Shasta, Tehama, and Siskiyou counties. Adopted in 2023, he quickly found his place on the ranch, helping manage critters, tagging along for long days in the woods, and offering unwavering companionship during demanding logging work.

Willy has even taken naturally to moving cattle, surprising calves (and more than a few full-grown cows!) with his burst of energy from the tall grass. As Marshal put it: “He goes with me everywhere every single day.”

Congratulations to Willy and his family, a perfect example of how every good farm dog, no matter the size, helps keep California agriculture running strong.