Apologists for the practice of allowing peddlers of wholesale produce into "farmers markets" insist that shoppers at the venues want variety and don't particularly care where the food comes from. That self-serving excuse is poppycock, as a survey of farmers market shoppers in Ontario confirms.
According to a press release about the findings, "Customers feel a strong sense of community and local pride in attending farmers' markets.... The market customer is uniquely sensitive to the need to support local primary producers. (62% feel this is extremely important, 30% feel it is somewhat important.)"
The study was conducted by Farmers Markets Canada, chaired by Bob Chorney, who has been on a mission in recent years to clean up Canada's peddler-ridden farmers markets.
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