The Peterborough Farmers' Market hasn't had enough local producers selling homegrown food, over the last six years, to even be considered a farmers' market under provincial regulations.

Under the Ontario Food Premises regulations, a farmers' market is defined as a market where greater than 50 per cent of vendors grow and sell their own farm goods.

But local farmers made up only 48 per cent of the vendors at the market as of January, according to data obtained through Freedom of Information legislation by The Examiner (47 local farmers of a total of 97 vendors).

Meanwhile, a citizen who also filed an FOI request, obtained data for every year since 2013 and shared the information with The Examiner.

In each of the last six years, the data shows, local farmers represented somewhere between 40 and 48 per cent of vendors at the market, which operates on Saturdays at Morrow Park.

The data comes from Peterborough Public Health (PPH).

It was reported to the health unit by the board of directors that operates the Saturday farmers' market (called the Peterborough and District Farmers' Market Association, or PDFMA).

Under Ontario regulations, market boards must report to health units annually on their vendors.

In turn, the local health unit must inspect the market if the proportion of vendors selling primarily their own homegrown food falls short of 50 per cent plus one.

Atul Jain, manager of health programs at PPH, oversees a team of health inspectors.

Since the PDFMA's January report shows 48 per cent of vendors selling their own homegrown produce, the market must be inspected, he said.

Inspectors are looking for "basic" food safety hygiene, he said, such as handwashing stations (which can be a simple bucket and spigot, for example).

But Jain said he's asked for a fresh report from PDFMA.

He typically does that when the market moves outdoors for the season, he said, because the number of vendors – and local growers – is likely to fluctuate.

Clarification: In each year from 2013-2017, the vendor list provided by the PDFMA indicated they were below the 50% plus 1 requirement for exemption; when Peterborough Public Health inspectors verified the list during the market's peak in those years, they then qualified for the exemption.

The market is typically inspected in May or June, he said, and he expects that will happen again this year.

Inspectors visit booths at the market, Jain said, and they talk to the vendors.

"We ask, 'Is this from your farm or from somewhere else?'" he said.

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Jain said he never doubts the data reported to him from the PDFMA.

"Why would they hide anything?" he asked. "I don't see the association not being truthful."

Yet one recently ousted farmer, Romeyn Stevenson of Gaelic Garlic, said he thinks the market has no more than about 30 per cent local growers.

Stevenson says the figure of 48 per cent local farmers likely includes artisans who happen to live on a farm – all it takes is a farm address, he said, to be counted as a farmer.

The data obtained through FOI has all the names of the farmers redacted, so The Examiner had no means of verifying this claim.

PDFMA president Cindy Hope would not comment on Tuesday and directed questions to marketing director Mark Jones, who hasn't been available for an interview this week.

Stevenson is one of five local farmers and artisans who were evicted from the market on May 1. McLean Berry Farm, Circle Organic, Otonabee Apiary and Chef Marshall were also evicted.

Although no comment has been available from the PDFMA since the evictions, a letter to the farmers cites several reasons why they were ousted: they gossiped and made false allegations about board members, for example, and also made disparaging comments about the market.

Meanwhile some vendors who buy produce from places such as the Ontario Food Terminal in Toronto – without necessarily advertising it – are still doing business at the market.

Stevenson said he was visited by health inspectors only once or twice in a decade of selling at the Saturday farmers' market.

He thinks inspectors should be far better acquainted with vendors, and should visit more frequently.

"That count is so important," he said.