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Established in 1972, Karma Co-op (739 Palmerston, at Barton, 416-534-1470) is Toronto’s longest-running non-profit cooperative food store. It also carries downtown’s largest selection of locally grown organic produce – five types of tomato alone – as well as rennet-free cheese, free-range eggs and what its website (www.karmacoop.org) describes as “interesting magazines.”
At the crossroads of Kensington, organic grocer 4 Life (257 Augusta, at Nassau, 416-591-6800) deals with regional certified grower Ted Thorpe for reasonably priced arugula and green beans, along with Chick-A-Biddy Acres for chicken. Mennonite eggs, too.
Unlike most others in town, the weekly Thursday afternoon farmers market in Dufferin Grove Park (875 Dufferin, at Bloor West, 416-392-0913) runs year round, taking the action indoors into the park’s rink house come winter. There you’ll find organic veggies from Sosnicki Farms , Plan B Organics and Lorenz Eppinger ‘s Greenfields Farms (see stories, pages 31 and 35).
Toronto’s oldest organic meet is also its smallest. Every Saturday from 9 am to 3 pm regardless of weather, the Farmers Organic Market (Phil, 647-226-2418 or 613-476-2418) gathers in front of St. George the Martyr Church (197 John, at McCaul) with a small but extensive array of produce, fruit butters and homemade chutneys.
