This time of year, more than any other, gives the people of Northern Ontario something to get excited about when it comes to their food. Gone are the mealy, orange tomatoes that sit on the grocery store shelves, and returned are the juicy and flavourful tastes of the seasons, complete with the joy of supporting local farmers.
But if you can’t make it out to the farmers’ market to wander the stalls, or drive out to the farmers themselves for delicious, pasture raised meat and fowl, then four farmers in the region have the answer for you.
And it’s only a click … fork … away.
Click Fork - Northeastern Online Farmer’s Market came from the loss of Eat Local Sudbury, a central location for farmers in the area to sell their goods. Those left without a sales opportunity were intrigued by the website that Dalew Farms was using for their business, and so Dalew opened the opportunity to any grower looking to take part and found the most interest from farms that were not only close in proximity, but farmers who are close to their heart.
Kipling Ridge Farms, Field Good Farms and Three Forks Farm are local family farms, and many of them have, at one point, worked for or with Dalew Farm. It’s this comfort and knowledge of how the other farms – and farmers – operate that has made the four such excellent bedfellows.
“We want to have a good public image,” says Chantal Lewington of Dalew Farm. “And we all know we have a good customer service reputation. I guess you would say that’s why we’re comfortable, we know each other’s operations and want to make sure that we have supply quality and good customer relations. It has to be organized for it to work.”
When you use Click Fork – Northeastern Online Farmer’s Market, you can choose from a wide-variety of products, all locally grown to the highest of standards. Among many others things, you can find: “Dalew Farms, we have our grass fed beef, but also we offer maple syrup and honey from Sucrerie Seguin and Creekbend Farm, and we have flour from Poschaven Farm, and then Field Good Farms will have organic vegetables and organic eggs available, three forks has organic chicken and vegetables, and then Kipling Ridge will have GMO-free pastured pork and pastured chicken.”
Of course, this is merely a sampling of items that are available online at various times in the year.
The site, accessible through their Facebook page or by visiting their website, which allows you to register an account, and then browse all of the products available.
From then, it’s click to fork.
“You can view all of our products,” Lewington said. “(It’s) kind of an online catalogue, and then you can place the order from all four farmers’ products.”
There is no minimum order, a boon to those who have ever been interested in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) system, but felt overwhelmed by committed amounts or unfamiliar products, and because there is a central pick up location, there is no delivery fee.
You will be required to pay on the website for your order, as having to collect funds for four different farmers on the spot would mean an inconvenient and time consuming pick-up schedule. But the pick-up location is yours to decide.
“They will be able to select the date, and if they want pick up in North Bay or Sudbury – there will also be a pick up location at Field Good Farms in Cache Bay,” says Lewington.
For the moment, you can pick up your Click Fork order in Sudbury on specific Tuesdays on Elgin Street (at the Saturday Farmers’ Market location), though there could be a second location soon. All information about dates and times can be found on their website and Facebook page.
Take advantage of the wonderful food grown and raised here in Northern Ontario, and enjoy all the season has to offer without any inconvenience. Place your order, pick it up quickly, and savour everything this area and its farmers has to offer.
Jenny Lamothe is a freelance writer, proof-reader and editor in Greater Sudbury. Contact her through her website, JennytheWriter.wordpress.com.
