Shop local this summer – take the kids to a Farmer’s Market. Mississauga has a variety of Farmers Markets to choose from – there one in every neighbourhood!
This is the time of year I love best! Farmer’s Markets across the City are opening up! Here in Mississauga we are very lucky to have several Farmer’s Markets. The largest is the Sq 1 Market held on Fridays & Sundays at Square One Shopping Centre on the North Parking Lot on Shipp Drive 3 Robert Speck Parkway.
Port Credit has its own Farmers Market on Saturdays at the corner of Elmwood Ave. & Lakeshore Rd.E. Streetsville also has a Market at the Streetsville Go Station Parking lot on Saturday mornings. There is also a micro farm & farmers market in Erin Mills at the NE Corner of Eglington Ave W & Erin Mills Parkway.
Farmers Markets are a great place to take your kids on a journey of discovery. What better place to talk to kids about healthy eating? Its also beneficial to find out where our food comes from! Kids can meet the farmers themselves and find out a little bit about what it takes to grow and produce our food. It doesn't just appear in the grocery store by magic!
I have found that while visiting, the vendors love to see the kids and will often engage them in conversation and offer encouragement to try new things. There are pieces of fruit and veggies cut up for sampling at most stalls. What a great way to get a reluctant toddler to try something new!
The kids love discovering new fruits and produce too. Last week we saw cherries that were white and pink (which thrilled my daughter who loves everything pink)! The kids got to touch and choose the beans and peppers that were on our list. They sampled cucumbers, apricots and of course local strawberries -which are so delicious this time of year!
This picture shows our buys last week – they cost $15 spinach, asparagus, 6 peppers, rhubarb, 2qts green beans & basil (the flowers were a gift)!
Let us know about your successes (or failures) here on our blog or connect with us on our Facebook Fan Page. Join us for our monthly Junior Chef program for more inspiration!