Real food, grown and raised locally

If you’re looking for a real way to eat better, improve your quality of life, support the local economy, reduce your carbon footprint, reduce packaging, improve regional food security, build community, and improve your long-term health – all at the same time – it’s very simple: stop buying overly processed and packaged food often shipped for thousands of miles, and start eating locally grown and raised food.

Exploring local food options is good for all of us. Save this alphabetical list of local growers (or markets whose primary function is supporting local growers) and watch for updates in the future. If you have a local grower you’d like to see included in future lists, please get in touch!

Brass Point Farm, Seeley’s Bay. Elderberries available in 2020. Stay tuned! brasspointfarm.ca

Corn Acres: Lyndhurst. Sweet corn and seasonal veggies. Farmgate sales at Wendy’s Country Market. www.facebook.com/cornacrefarms

Enright Cattle Company, Tweed. Fourth-generation family-run beef farm. Delivery to Kingston. enrightcattlecompany.com

Fat Chance Farmstead, Harrowsmith. Certified organic strawberries and vegetables. Food box program (sold out for 2019). Visit website for info on surplus produce, garlic, and strawberries. fatchancefarmstead.com

Fat of the Land Farm, Elgin. Grass-fed beef, pasture-raised pork and poultry. Various pickups, including the Memorial Centre Farmers Market. www.fatoftheland.ca

Firefly Lane Farms, Stirling. Free-range eggs, free-range chicken, turkey and goat meat delivered to Kingston. 613-395-2397. www.harvesthastings.ca/firefly-farm

Forman Farms, Seeley’s Bay. Hydroponic tomatoes, mini cucumbers and eggplant; lettuce, herbs and other seasonal veggies. formanfarms.ca

Freedom Farm, Battersea. Small-scale organic farm with CSA (sold out for 2019) and stall at the Memorial Centre Farmers Market. Also sell through Glenburnie Grocery and Limestone Creamery. freedom-farm.ca

Fruition Berry Farms, 3208 Hughes Road, Kingston. Pick your own or prepicked strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and vegetables, including peas, beans and pumpkins. Honey and jam. Open from mid-June until autumn. https://www.fruition.ca

Gananoque Farmers Market, Town Hall Park, 30 King St. East, Gananoque. Thursdays 4-7 p.m. from June to October. www.gananoquefarmersmarket.ca

Garlic Fields Garden Market and Gourmet Foods, South Frontenac. Garlic growers and caterers. www.garlicfieldsgourmet.com

Greenwood Park Micro Farm, Greenwood Park, Kingston. Micro greens, plus seasonal organic greens and veggies grown in suburban Greenwood Park. Delivered by bicycle locally! www.facebook.com/GPMicroFarm

Harvest Hastings, Info about sustainable agriculture in Hastings County including growers, farms, farmers markets and local food. www.harvesthastings.ca

Hive and Hearthstone, Napanee. Raw, unpasteurized honey and honey products. Watch for artisan breads and pizzas from the new outdoor wood-fired oven. www.facebook.com/TheHiveandHearthstone

Ironwood Organics, Gananoque. Organic cereal crops, veggies and flowers. Seasonal sales at Memorial Centre Farmers Market and Gananoque Farmers Market. Ironwood Organic red fife flour sold at the Delta Mill. www.ironwoodorganics.ca

(The) Kitchen Garden, Wilton. Small-scale biodynamic veggie farm. Market offerings and CSA shares available at the Memorial Centre Farmers Market. www.thekitchengarden.ca

Lemoine Point Farmer, Kingston. Grass-fed, free-range meats; eggs; seasonal veggies. Farmgate sales. www.facebook.com/lemoinespoint.farmer

Limestone Organic Creamery Ltd., Sydenham Road, Kingston. Certified organic, family-run dairy farm business with storefront sales. www.limestonecreamery.ca

Local Family Farms, Verona. Beef, pork and poultry from Perry Farms; Sun Harvest tomatoes; Topsy Farms wool blankets and sheepskins; and other local, seasonal produce. foodlesstravelled.ca

Memorial Centre Farmers Market, 303 York St., Kingston. One hundred per cent producer-run market, started by five local farmers and run by a volunteer board. Sundays, year-round with occasional nighttime markets. www.memorialcentrefarmersmarket.ca

Mensen Farm, Delta. Family farm selling asparagus, strawberries, raspberries, corn, potatoes, maple syrup, farm-raised turkeys and more, available at the Memorial Centre Farmers Market and Farmgate store. www.facebook.com/Mensen-Farm-138754269660756

Milk House Farm and Dairy, Smiths Falls. Husband-and-wife team producing raw sheeps’ milk cheeses, grass-fed lamb, and all-natural wool products. www.milkhouse.ca

Ontario Water Buffalo Company, Stirling. Water buffalo milk, soap, cheese and gelato, as well as meat. www.ontariowaterbuffalo.ca

Patchwork Gardens, Battersea. Certified organic farm offering both CSA and produce sold at many local outlets. www.patchworkgardens.ca

Paulridge Berry Farm, Napanee. Family farm dating back to the United Empire Loyalists. Pre-picked and pick-your-own strawberries, raspberries, peas and beans. www.paulridgeberryfarm.com

Roots Down Farm, Near Seeley’s Bay. Small, family-run organic farm offering CSA full and half shares, and produce at local markets. www.rootsdown.ca

Root Radical CSA Farm, Gananoque. CSA shares for 2019 are full but you can still sign up for a pop-up share. Delivery to Kingston-area locations. rootradicalrows.com

Salt of the EarthCommunityFarm, Kingston East and also Sweet’s Corners, near Lyndhurst. Veggie CSA produce with various Kingston delivery options; and pork, beef, eggs and firewood available seasonally. saltofkingston.com

Sonset Farm, Inverary. Certified organic farm offering milk, pastured pork, home-rendered lard, grass-fed beef, spelt flour (milled on farm), spelt kernels, seasonal veggies, farm eggs. www.sonsetfarm.com

Sugar Hill Farm, Sunbury. Family farm offering grass-fed, certified organic Black Angus beef, lamb, Red Tamworth pork, meat chickens, Bronze turkeys, Muscovy ducks, maple syrup, honey, Guinea fowl, and firewood. www.sugarhillfarm.ca

Sun Harvest Greenhouses, 2542 Perth Road, Glenburnie. Greenhouse tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce from April to November, as well as field grown potatoes, beans, sweet corn, garlic and fall squash. sunharvest.ca

Sunnyside Acres, Harrowsmith. Family-run honey farm and tree nursery that emphasizes biodiversity and sustainable, regenerative land management practices. www.facebook.com/SunnysideAcresHarrowsmith

Topsy Farms, Amherst Island. Family-run farm offering lamb, young mutton, honey and woollen products. Farm store sales. Amherst Island. www.topsyfarms.com

Waddell Apple Orchard and Bakery, Washburn Road, Kingston. Pick-your-own and ready-picked apples, apple cider, baked items, jams and pumpkins. www.waddellapples.com

Wendy’s Country Market, Lyndhurst. Offering organic, locally grown and raised seasonal produce, eggs and meat, as well as cheese and baked goods. www.wendyscountrymarket.com

Wilton Cheese Factory, Wilton. Family-run cheese-making operation that first began operation as a farmers co-operative in 1867. www.wiltoncheese.ca

Lindy Mechefske is the award-winning author of Out of Old Ontario Kitchens and Sir John’s Table. Contact her at lindymechefske.com.