2027 Award Applications are Open

Is your market the best in Ontario? Tell us.

Every year, Farmers' Markets Ontario recognizes one Ontario market that goes above and beyond — for its vendors, its farmers, and the community it serves.

The Farmers' Market of the Year Award celebrates markets that build real connections between people and local food. Markets that show up for their community, champion their producers, and make Ontario a better place to live and eat.

This is a self nomination award application intended for market managers, board or organizing volunteers to nominate their own markets. 

The prize:
$1,000 cheque to support your market - Sponsored by Co-operators
Complimentary trip to the OFVC Symposium in Niagara Falls for your market manager or delegate
Provincial recognition across FMO + Foodland Ontario media and social channels
Your story shared with 180+ markets across Ontario

Who can apply:
Any current FMO member market that has been in operation for at least 3 years and has not won the award in the past 2 years. No size restrictions, markets of all sizes are eligible and encouraged to apply. This is a self nomination award application intended for market managers, board or organizing volunteers to nominate their own markets. 

What we're looking for:
We want to know why your market is exceptional. Tell us about the programs you run, the farmers you support, the community you feed, and the story you're most proud of from this past season. Strong applications are specific, real numbers, real stories, real impact.

Applications take approximately 15–20 minutes. Photos and supporting materials are encouraged.

Deadline: November 1st, 2026 | Questions? info@farmersmarketsontario.com

Celebrating 35 Years of Farmers' Markets Ontario and its community.
Every market has an unsung hero. Who's yours?

Farmers' Markets Ontario is turning 35, and this year, we're also saying farewell to someone who has been here for nearly every one of those years.

Catherine Clark helped build this organization from the ground up. For decades, she showed up for Ontario's farmers' markets the way the best market volunteers always do, quietly, consistently, and because she believed in what this community stands for. As Catherine passes the torch, we wanted to find a way to honour not just her legacy, but everyone like her: the people who give so much to their markets and ask for so little in return.

That's why we created the Founder's Award.

This brand new recognition, launched in honour of FMO's 35th anniversary, celebrates the unsung heroes of Ontario's farmers' market community. The volunteer who arrives before everyone else and leaves after. The manager who's held things together for twenty years without a job title. The vendor who mentors every newcomer at the stall next to theirs. The board member no one sees but everyone depends on.

This community is built on people like that. This award is for them.

This year, the Founder's Award will be presented by Catherine herself at the OFVC Symposium in Niagara Falls, a full-circle moment, and a chance for our community to gather and celebrate together.

The prize:
$500 Cash
2 nights at the Fallsview Hotel in Niagara Falls
Welcome dinner with market friends from across Ontario
Full registration to the OFVC Symposium and FMO Annual General Meeting
Provincial recognition across FMO media and social channels

Who can be nominated:
Any individual, market manager, board member, volunteer, or long-serving vendor, who is actively involved with a current FMO member market. FMO Board members are not eligible. Self-nominations are not accepted.

How to nominate:
Tell their story. Nominations take about 10–15 minutes. The more specific and personal, the better, we want to know who this person is, what they've done, and why they're the one.

Judging:
Nominations are reviewed by a small panel that includes an FMO founding member and members of the FMO Board. Judges look for the heart of the story, the specific, human details that show who this person is and what they've given to their community. There's no scoring formula. The panel reads every nomination and reaches a decision together.

Nominations close: November 1st, 2026 | Questions? info@farmersmarketsontario.com