The government puts out an amazing chart of local vegetables and fruits available here in season: http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/english/availability.html

Winter (December through the end of March)
apples, Asian vegetables, beets, cabbage, carrots, greenhouse cucumber, garlic, leeks, greenhouse lettuce, mushrooms, cooking onions, parsnips, pears, greenhouse peppers, potatoes, radishes, rhubarb, rutabaga, sprouts, squash, sweet potatoes, greenhouse tomatoes

And importantly, greenhouse produce in Ontario is NOT allowed to be sprayed, so it's pesticide-free!

Add to this impressive list...

Spring (April-June)
asparagus, wax beans, broccoli, cauliflower, cherries, field cucumber, assorted lettuce, green onions, green and snow peas, radicchio, spinach, strawberries

And add to THIS...
Summer through Harvest (July, August, September, October, November)
apricots, blueberries, brussels sprouts, celery, corn, crabapples, cranberries, red/black currants, eggplant, gooseberries, grapes, muskmelon, nectarines, Spanish/red onions, peaches, field peppers, plums, rapini, raspberries, field tomatos, zuchinni

So there's really no need for us to be importing conventional produce at any time of the year*, and we could use an increase in the availability of organically grown local produce so that we have no need to choose between local or organic produce!
*except for avocado *sigh*

Karma Food Cooperative grocery store develops relationships with local farmers to make available a huge array of local, organically grown (plus foreign fairly traded) fruits and vegetables year round. Tweets announce produce status updates: Still over 80 locally grown items with 11 types of apples, 6 varieties of potatoes and 7 types of squash. Plus lots of greens! (end of October) Follow Karmas on Twitter http://twitter.com/KarmaCoop

Local Food Plus has good news! from http://localfoodplus.ca
Recent research* has indicated significant support for local sustainable food, with similar data across North America.

* 79% prefer to buy locally grown food
* 91% would buy more local food if it was made more convenient
* 55% seek out and buy local food at least once a week
* 54% always check labels to see where their food comes from
* 92% identify sustainability as an issue

In addition, LFP has conducted some informal tests of consumer price threshold for local sustainable produce. Consumers have demonstrated a willingness to pay premiums of as much as 30% for LFP certified food in conventional grocery stores.

(Sources: Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, Ipsos-Reid, The Hartmann Group)

You can search for your local food sources here:
http://localfoodplus.ca/commercial-buyer-services/farmer-and-distributor...

Finally, support your local farmers and buy produce in season at your neighbourhood Farmer's Market:

Appletree Market
200 Eglinton Ave. W.
Thursdays, 3-7 pm, April 22-Oct 28, 2010
www.appletreemarkets.ca

BirchCliff Village Farmers’ Market
1512 Kingston Road (east of Warden)
Fridays, 3– 7 pm, June 11 to October 8, 2010
www.marketsbythebluffs.com

Bloor-Borden Farmers’ Market
Green P lot, Lippincott and Bloor St.
Wednesdays 3-7 pm, June 2 to October 27, 2010
www.my-market.ca

Distillery Historic District Farmers’ Market
55 Mill Street (at Parliament)
Sundays, 10 am - 4 pm, May 2 to September 26, 2010
www.thedistillerydistrict.com

Dufferin Grove Organic Farmers’ Market
873 Dufferin St. (in Dufferin Grove Park)
Thursdays, 3 – 7 pm, Open all year
www.dufferinpark.ca/market/wiki/wiki.php

East Lynn Farmers’ Market
1949 Danforth Avenue, near Woodbine (in East Lynn Park)
Thursdays, 3 – 7 pm, June 3 to October 28, 2010
www.my-market.ca

East York Farmers’ Market
East York Civic Centre, 850 Coxwell Ave
Tuesdays, 8 am – 2 pm, May 18 to November 2, 2010

Etobicoke Farmers’ Market
Etobicoke Civic Centre, 399 The West Mall
Saturdays, 8 am – 2 pm, June 5 to November 6, 2010

Evergreen’s Bay & Adelaide Market
Bay & Adelaide, just south of Temperance
Thursdays, 11 am to 2 pm, July 8 to September 2

Evergreen Brick Works Farmers’ Market
550 Bayview Ave (between Prince Edward Viaduct (Bloor/Danforth) & Pottery Road)
Saturdays, 8 am - 1 pm, opening May 29, 2010
www.evergreen.ca/rethinkspace/?p=148

Guildwood Village Farmers’ Market
The Guild Inn, 191 Guildwood Parkway (at Kingston Road)
Thursdays, 2-6:30 pm, June 10 to October 7, 2010
www.marketsbythebluffs.com

Liberty Village Farmers’ Market
(Liberty St – Atlantic Ave)
Sundays, 9 am - 2 pm, June 6 to October 31, 2010
www.my-market.ca

Metro Hall Farmers’ Market
55 John Street, near King St.
Thursdays, 8 am - 2 pm, May 27 to October 14, 2010
(no market on Canada Day)

Montgomery’s Inn Farmers’ Market
4709 Dundas West, Etobicoke Wednesdays, 3-7 pm, July 1 to October 13, 2010
Harvest Tea Oct. 17 with pumpkins and apples
Winter Markets: 2-6 pm on Nov 3, Dec 1(holiday market), Feb 2, Mar 2, Apr 6
www.montgomerysinn.com

Nathan Philips Square Farmers’ Market
Nathan Phillips Square, 100 Queen St. West
Wednesdays, 8 am – 2 pm, June 2 to October 13, 2010

North York Civic Centre Farmers’ Market
Mel Lastman Square, 5100 Yonge St.
Thursdays, 8 am – 2:30 pm, June 3 to October 28, 2010

Queen’s Quay Terminal Farmers’ Market
207 Queen’s Quay West (outdoors, southwest corner)
Wednesdays, 3-7 pm, June 2- October 11, 2010

Riverdale Farm Farmers’ Market
201 Winchester (in Riverdale Park)
Tuesdays, 3 – 7 pm, May 11 to October 26, 2010
www.friendsofriverdalefarm.com/market.htm

St. Lawrence North Farmers’ Market
92 Front Street East (at Jarvis)
Saturdays, 5 am – 5 pm, Open all year
www.stlawrencemarket.com

Scarborough Civic Centre Market
Albert Campbell Square, 150 Borough Drive, Scarborough (near McCowan & Ellesmere)
Tuesdays, 8:00 am - 2:30 pm, June 15 - October 19, 2010
www.toronto.ca/indulge/albertcampbellsquare.htm

Sherway Farmers’ Market
North Parking Lot, Sherway Gardens Shopping Centre, Corner of 427 and The Queensway
Fridays, 8 am - 2 pm, May 7 to October 29, 2010

Sick Kids Hospital Farmers’ Market
555 University Avenue
Tuesdays, 9 am – 2 pm, June 1 to October 26, 2010
www.my-market.ca

Sorauren Farmers’ Market
40 Wabash Ave. at Sorauren
Mondays, 3-7 pm, May 17 to Oct 25, 2010
Winter Markets the third Monday of every month
www.westendfood.coop

Stonegate Farmers’ Market
194 Park Lawn Road (At The Queensway),
St James Humber Bay Anglican Church
Tuesdays, 4 – 7 pm, June 22 to October 5, 2010
julia.graham@stonegatechc.org

The Stop’s Green Barn Farmers’ Market
The Green Arts Barn, 601 Christie Ave. (entrance from Wychwood)
Saturdays 8am - noon, year-round
www.thestop.org/green-barn-market

Trinity Bellwoods Farmers’ Market
Northwest corner of Trinity Bellwoods Park near Dundas and Shaw
Tuesdays, 3 - 7 pm, May 11 to October 26, 2010
www.tbfm.ca

University of Toronto Farmers’ Market
University College, 15 King’s College Circle, in the rotunda
Wednesdays, 2:30-5:30 September 2009-April 2010, continuing in June, dates tba

The Village Organic Farmers’ Market at the Toronto Waldorf School
9100 Bathurst
Saturdays, 8:30 am – 1:30 pm, Open all year
www.villagemarket.ca

Weston Farmers’ Market
GO Train Parking lot, John St. (Weston Rd. & Lawrence Ave W.)
Saturdays, 7 am - 2 pm, May 29 to October 30, 2010

Withrow Farmers’ Market
725 Logan Ave (in Withrow Park)
Saturdays, 9 am - 1 pm, May 22 to October 30, 2010
www.withrowpark.ca/wiki/wiki.php.

If there isn’t a farmers’ market in your area of the city, there may be a Good Food Market. These are fresh produce stands, operated by community groups in collaboration with FoodShare, to improve healthy food access in Toronto. To find out more, visit FoodShare’s website. http://www.foodshare.net/animators02.htm

For a list of just the organic farmers’ markets that includes descriptions and some photos see http://www.veg.ca/fm

And as an affordable alternative to for-profit delivered produce boxes, consider buying or hosting a Good Food Box through Foodshare:
We buy top quality fresh fruit and vegetables directly from farmers and from the Ontario Food Terminal, and volunteers pack it into green reusable boxes at our Field to Table warehouse...We choose Ontario-grown products for the box whenever possible because we want to know where and how our food is produced, to support local farmers and reduce the fossil fuels burned when we import food.

Read Foodshare's story about how they made the Good Food Box impact the local food economy http://www.foodshare.net/goodfoodbox13.htm

For myself, I wait with bated breath for mustard greens in March, sorrel in April, mixed greens in May, alpine strawberries in June, beets in July, astounding abundance in August, sunning squash in September, digging potatoes in October, celery in November and, if I'm lucky, carrots, celery, herbs and parnsips all the way through the winter so long as the soil can be broken!

And pumpkin patch day and apple picking in October with The Chosen Family restore food to its place as a feast for the heart AND soul AND body.

ONTARIO RESIDENTS: And if you can spare a moment to do a survey on shopping for dairy products for some Sheridan College Students...

My group and I are doing a marketing research project for a company and we need people to do our online questionnaire.

The questions are about grocery shopping, it's completely confidential, and it literally takes 5-10 minutes to complete.

We need to get a total of about 300 people or more.

... If you have time to do it today that would be really awesome - a huge thank
you!!

This is the link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/organicdairy

~ rachel