Dave Kranenburg and Emily Tufts, Kendal Hills Farm
“Food is my passion”, says Dave Kranenburg of Kendal Hills Farm. Dave and his wife Emily Tufts made the decision in 2017 to take over the farm where she had grown up. They studied the 70 acres of rolling woodland in the ecologically sensitive Oak Ridges Moraine to determine what made sense to produce there. They settled on pastured poultry and forest-raised pork and mushrooms. The farm also includes a boarding kennel. Dave works full-time on the farm while Emily has an off-farm job and contributes to the farm operation.
Production
They produce mushrooms, chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, partridge, squab (domestic pigeon) and pork. Dave and Emily are committed to the principles of regenerative agriculture.
| Farmers’ markets (2) & on farm | 56% |
| Wholesale | 34% |
| Farmgate & other retail | 10% |
Farmers’ markets attended
- Junction Farmers Market on Saturdays
- Leslieville Farmers’ Market, Toronto on Sundays
On farm events
Farm tours 10 am to 3 pm on the last Sunday of each month.
Farm-gate pickup is available, by appointment, every day from 9:30-10:30 am and 5:30-6:30 pm.
Farm tours and special events are promoted on their website.
The MyPick experience
Dave was aware of the MyPick Verified Local Farmer brand before he got into farming. Prior to 2017 he had worked on food issues nationally and locally. So, when Dave and Emily got into food production, they joined MyPick. Dave put it this way, “MyPick is a low-cost way to instill customer trust in your products, and in a confusing and competitive environment that trust is really important. Even if people don’t know what MyPick is, they are reassured by a third-party verification.”
“Farmers’ markets are the best entry point to the local food system – it is where it all began with our shoppers and then where all of the restaurants, grocers and other distributors have found us.”
“Food shopping is becoming more and more transactional, even more so with self-checkout. Farmers’ markets are different. We develop relationships with shoppers, and we become part of their lives. They are inviting me and my food into their homes and they are part of our lives.”
Dave Kranenburg, Kendal Hills Farm
For more information on Kendal Hills Farm:
