In Ontario, eating local year-round can be a challenge. But supporting local farmers year-round doesn’t have to be!
Local First
We wholeheartedly encourage everyone to embrace locally grown produce, but the reality is, come spring there aren’t a lot of local options available. We start to run out of storage crops, and fresh field crops will take time to be ready. Take a look at the crop availability grid for veggies we grow on our farm, and you’ll see in April and May there aren’t a lot of local options left.
We have always been a local first company. However, the limited nature of the Canadian growing season makes it difficult to have the rich and varied diet that is optimal for good health. In order to keep our selection of fresh organic produce as full as possible, we turn to import when local is not available. This allows us to meet the needs of our customers, and also keeps our operation running year-round. That means steady employment for a core group of employees, and also that we can keep farming at the scale we are at.
That said, some items are consistently available all year through local growers: greenhouse-grown greens & herbs, and mushrooms for example. Local makers provide a variety of Canadian made goods as well, and it is common for many to supplement with import ingredients when local isn’t available.
Pfenning Brand Product of USA
For everything there is a season, and for our homegrown Ontario carrots that season usually ends sometime in the late winter or early spring. When that happens, we transition to our Pfenning product of USA carrots until our own are ready again in August.
Over the last 20+ years, we have developed partnerships with growers in the US who pack carrots under our brand. The origin is clear on our packaging, and our brand signals to consumers that their purchase is supporting our Ontario organic farm (even if the product itself is imported).
Thank You
When you support Pfenning’s, you’re not just supporting a local, organic family farm. You’re supporting a business that stands up to protect farmland, farm workers, food access, and the environment.
Your support beyond the local season means that we can continue to do this vital work that we love so much. And that means the world to us.
