Farmers’ Market Week: Aliments Farmhouse Food
As part of #FarmersMarketWeek, we chatted with Aliments Farmhouse Food, a producer's cooperative that sells at the Parkdale Market on Saturdays.
Farmhouse Food is a cooperative of small ecological farms, located across Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec, and all within 100km from Parliament Hill. They're 100% farmer owned and operated, working together to bring our food directly to local eaters.
Their members are:
🐄 Grazing Days - St. Andre Avellin, QC
🥬 Juniper Farm - Wakefield, QC
🍅 Ferme Agricola - Papineauville, QC
🥔 Ferme Pleine Lune - Bristol, QC
🥦 Ottawa Farm Fresh - Ottawa, ON
🧀 Milkhouse Dairy - Smiths Falls, ON
🥕 Bluegrass Farm - Jasper, ON
Together, they produce and bring the freshest, certified organic, local food right to your door and now to the Parkdale Market on Saturdays!
How is a cooperative created?
Farmhouse Food came together as a result of 7 local farmers wanting to work together to share the work of marketing, sales and distribution, while creating something bigger than any of the farms could do on their own. We set up guidelines for how to work together effectively and democratically, and created a board and subcommittees for different aspects of the business. In practice, this has looked like a whole lot of phone calls and meetings while in the field harvesting, or in the barn milking!
What effects has being a part of cooperative had on your operation?
Being part of a cooperative means that we get to collaborate, rather than compete, with our fellow farmers and local food producers. All of us share a goal of building a stronger and more resilient local food system in Ottawa-Gatineau, and we really believe that working together is the best way to achieve that!
Learn more about Aliments Farmhouse Food on their website!
