 Every Saturday at Horton Market, food brings people together. Whether it's picking up fresh vegetables for the week, chatting with a local baker, or discovering a new seasonal ingredient, the market offers more than just something to eat. It reflects a bigger conversation happening across Elgin County: what does food security really look like? What is food security? Food security means more than simply having food available. It means having reliable access to nutritious, safe, and affordable food. Most recently, affordable food has increasingly become a challenge for many households across Ontario. Public Health Ontario found that one in four Ontario households experienced some level of food insecurity in 2023, with rates significantly increasing over the years (Public Health Ontario, 2025).  What does food security look like in Elgin County? In Elgin County, food insecurity can take many forms. For some households, it may look like stretching the grocery dollars further each month. For others, it may mean navigating transportation barriers, balancing rising household costs with weekly food expenses, or trying to access fresh and nutritious options consistently. Despite being an area surrounded by agriculture, food access if not always straightforward. Food security is deeply connected to affordability, transportation, income, housing, and local food systems. Southwestern Public Health, which serves Elgin County and St. Thomas, monitors food affordability using Ontario's Nutritious Food Basket survey and notes that many households, around 21%, struggle to afford the basic cost of living - including healthy food (Southwestern Public Health, 2025). The people most affected include those with chronic illnesses, who need nutritious food to manage their health, and children whose development and wellbeing are closely tied to consistent access to healthy food (Previl, 2026). As conversations around affordability and food access continue across Ontario, food security remains an issue that touches health, community, well-being, and everyday life. Public Health Ontario notes that food insecurity is linked to both physical and mental health outcomes, showing that access to food is not only an economic issue, but a public health one as well (2023).  How does Horton Market contribute to food security? Places like Horton Market become part of the bigger picture. Farmers' markets do not solve food insecurity on their own, nor do they replace the important work of food banks, community programs, and public health initiatives. What they can do is contribute to a stronger local food system - one built on connection, transparency, and supporting local growers. At Horton Farmers' Market, food security can look like shortening the distance between producer and consumer. it can mean buying vegetables from the person who harvested them, watching the market shift alongside the growing season, or learning how seasonal food evolves from spring through fall. Spring asparagus gives way to summer berries, tomatoes, and herbs, followed by squash, apples, and root vegetables - reminding shoppers that local food access is shaped by seasonality, harvest cycles, and the rhythms of local agriculture. For Elgin County, a region with a strong agricultural community, supporting local food systems is an important part of food security. Sometimes, food security is a shopper discovering a seasonal ingredient at its peak abundance and affordability. Sometimes, it's a family building a Saturday morning routine around fresh produce that changes with the harvest. Sometimes, it's learning to cook, preserve, or plan meals around what is growing locally at that moment in the season - check out how to eat seasonally!
The Horton Market, at its heart, is a community space. People come for tomatoes and leave with recipe ideas. They arrive for groceries and stay for conversations. Vendors share knowledge, regulars recognize familiar faces, and food becomes not just something consumed, but something shared. This sense of connection is easy to overlook, but it plays an important role in how communities think about, and engage with food. Farmers' markets contribute to food security by strengthening local food systems. By supporting local growers and food producers within the region, markets help maintain local food production, shorten supply chains, and keep agricultural skills and food dollars circulating within the community. They also create opportunities to engage more directly with seasonal eating. Produce is often harvested shortly before market day, giving shoppers access to ingredients at different points in the growing season and introducing them to foods they may not otherwise encounter. Food security is also connected to food knowledge. At markets, like Horton, shoppers can ask questions about growing practices, storage, preparation, and seasonality. A conversation about preserving strawberries, storing fresh herbs, or how to use the whole carrot when cooking may seem small, but these exchanges strengthen people's confidence and connection to food.  At Horton Farmers' Market, the story of food security does not always appear in bold headlines or statistics. More often, it shows up in smaller moments - seasonal harvests, direct conversations with growers, shared food knowledge, and a community gathering around local food. So while Horton may be known for fresh produce, baked goods, and Saturday traditions, it also reflects something larger - the ongoing work of building stronger relationships between people, place, and the food that nourishes us. Food security is not just about what is on our plates; it is about how communities come together around food - and what becomes possible when local food systems are supported, valued, and shared.
References
Previl, S. (2026, May 25). Canadians face food insecurity as 120% of income for some goes to food, rent. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/11863462/food-insecurity-canada-ontario/ Public Health Ontario (2025, April). Food Insecurity & Food Affordability in Ontario: 2025 report. https://www.publichealthontario.ca/ Public Health Ontario. (2023, August 10). Household food insecurity in Ontario. Public Health Ontario. https://www.publichealthontario.ca/en/About/News/2023/04/Household-Food-Insecurity-Ontario Southwestern Public Health. (2025). Food insecurity. Southwestern Public Health. https://www.swpublichealth.ca/community-health/health-equity/food-insecurity/
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