Farmers Markets Canada has been set up to act as the voice of the markets nation wide and the Chair Bob Chorney says their goal is to develop national initiatives to further the growth and prosperity of the Farmers Market industry.
Chorney, who also is the Executive Director of Farmers Market Ontario says large and small markets like the Owen Sound Farmers Market are huge generators of economic activity.
He says the latest figures for Ontario show that almost one million people a year visit Farmers Markets spending more than 700 million dollars on local food.
Chorney says equates into an economic impact of more than two billion dollars in Ontario alone.
He says the new national organization wants to help expand the market industry to meet the growing demand for locally grown food.
To that end, Chroney says they will be asking the Federal Government for funding so they can hire a professional resource person to help design and implement growth strategies.
He says considering the potential economic impact Farmers Markets can have nation wide, he is very optimistic that the Federal Government will support their initiative.
