Return of the Milton Winter Farmers Market

Story by Cassy Nicholls, Taneal Lockstadt and Kael Blackburn

The Milton Winter Farmers Market has returned on Saturdays for its second season. 

“[We] want to keep the market in everybody’s minds, as a permanent fixture for shopping and not just as a seasonal one-off tourism activity.”

Ginny, Market Manager

The market is making a positive contribution to small businesses, many of which suffered during COVID. A lot of the businesses at the market do not have a physical brick-and-mortar location. The market allows them to build up their customer base and get exposure that they might not otherwise have.

Michael Bryant owns Eastern Woodlands Trading Co. “We’re all about the farmers markets so we love them for many reasons but mostly it’s just connecting directly with the people that we’re providing our food to,” says Bryant. 

Many of the vendors rely on the market as the primary point of sale. Online ordering is often unaffordable for the businesses as the cost of shipping outweighs the cost of the product itself. This also gives the vendors the opportunity to also get into the retail market. Lumberhead Food Company is one such vendor. Herb Sickinger, the owner of Lumberhead Food Co., specializes in popcorn using different organic cane sugar and sea salts. At the Farmers Market they carry specific flavours including their winter flavours, blueberry and pumpkin spice. Two of their original flavours are also now available at Sobeys. This is just one example of how the Winter Market has helped a local, small business. 

The Winter Farmers Market has local vendors with a variety of options, catering to everyone’s needs. Natasha, a customer at the market attends on the weekends. “It’s like a variety of everything… and being able to support local businesses is important to me,” said Natasha. 

You can check out the Winter Farmers Market every Saturday until March 11th, from 10am-2pm at the Milton Mall. For more information visit http://miltonfarmersmarket.ca/winter-farmers-market