SP0224: McGill Farmers' Market New Equipment

The Market, has for several years now has been a pillar of ecological and social sustainability on campus by promoting locally grown food purchased directly from the producer. The market has relied on McGill facilities to provide electrical equipment, tables, tents, and the likes in order for market to function. While in previous years the university has lent this equipment to us free of charge, we have been informed that it will no longer be doing so. The market’s finances have thus far been self-funded from vendor fees, which while being one of its noteworthy successes, also means that renting equipment for the entire duration of the season is entirely out of the realm of possibility.

We see this purchase of durable equipment as a way to ensure the economic sustainability and independence of the market so that policy changes regarding, for example, the use of electrical equipment, no longer threatens the market’s capacity to run. Moreover, this purchase would allow us to be more generous in lending equipment to our vendors, thereby make it more inclusive towards those who are not currently able to provide their own and give smaller vendors greater opportunities.

Community building is an essential part of sustainability and is central to the Farmers’ Market’s mandate. In previous years, we have done events primarily during the fall market due largely to the limited capacity of the market coordinators leading up to the summer market, wherein we are largely spending most of our time finding new avenues to secure equipment and location in order to have a functioning market. The addition of this permanent equipment to the market would allow ourselves and future coordinators to focus more heavily on the creation of events such as the yearly corn boils, volunteer potlucks, and mutual events with other groups on campus, such as the one we are currently discussing with campus crops.