In this Food Makers & Changers interview, we get to know food movement entrepreneur & activist Janaki Hadida.
Among her many accomplishments, Janaki founded The Leslieville Farmers’ Market, and co-founded The Backyard Farm & Market at Erin Mills.
About Janaki Hadida:
Janaki is a passionate and conceptual local food systems entrepreneur driven to provide people with exceptional tastes and enriching experiences. Starting off her career with a marketing focus, Janaki switched to food security and in 2011 successfully founded The Leslieville Farmers’ Market in Toronto. Currently averaging 1,800 to 3,500 people per Sunday and growing in popularity, the Market has become a wonderful addition to the community. Having been raised in the hospitality industry, Janaki has blended her love for people, food and entertainment, with social entrepreneurship and healthy food accessibility. In 2013, she helped turn a vacant lot into a vibrant community hub in Mississauga called The Backyard Farm & Market at Erin Mills in partnership with The Daniels Corporation, and Hoffmann Hayes. Janaki works for Green Living Enterprises as the Manager of Engagement Strategy & Programming where she most recently curated The Green Living Show’s food feature – The Mindful Plate: Delicious ways to Shrink your ‘Foodprint’. She has an Honours Degree in Commerce from McMaster University and is working towards her Certificate in Food Security at Ryerson University.
If you could only have three vegetables for the rest of your life, what would they be and why?
This question makes me uncomfortable! Lettuce because I eat a salad every day and have perfected my favourite salad dressing passed on from my mom. Kale, because it’s so versatile, super healthy and I never get sick of eating it. Raw, steamed, sautéed, as chips, in soups.. love it. Lastly, mini cucumbers because they’re so crunchy and totally addictive.
If you could only have one non-local food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Chocolate covered coffee beans
Is there a fruit or vegetable that you just won’t eat?
Fortunately no! Although…the first and only time I ate durian, I couldn’t get past the intense onion smell. It tastes like custard but has a pretty aggressive smell. I hear once you overcome that, it’s absolutely delicious. I’m game for a second try.
Favourite junkfood?
For sweet, mint chocolate chip or espresso ice cream hands down. For salty, onion rings with ketchup. For both, mixed popcorn, half caramel half salty – so dangerous.
What would surprise most people about your history with food?
I was vegetarian for a large part of my life and never really ate red meat until I met my grass fed meat farmer at the market 5 years ago – Phoenix/Arnold Grass Fed Beef. I don’t eat a lot of red meat, but I have come to very much love a great steak from an ethical and healthy source. Ironically, steak tartar has become one of my favourite treats and my childhood friends and family all laugh at me because I did a full 180.
What is your favourite season and why?
Summer in Toronto is my ultimate favourite season. The market is running, the best produce is growing, my fridge is packed with fresh goodies, patios are open and there’s that happy vibe in the city that only a Toronto summer can bring.
What do you daily or weekly to try and be a part of the solution when it comes to creating a sustainable food system?
I purchase locally and sustainably produced/grown food as much as possible and buy products with minimal/no packaging. I grow a garden, compost, and try and be as conscious as possible about the amount of meat I consume. After reading The Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler (great book!), I became a lot more aware of how we can get the most out of our ingredients and more conscious about any food waste I was generating. All my scraps go in a bag for end of the week soup, bones are kept and, although I’m no expert, preserve whatever I can to avoid spoilage.
Do you have any advice for newcomers to the food movement, and how they can make a contribution?
The food movement in TO is (fortunately) growing fast and is filled with incredibly passionate people doing some amazing work. Dive in deep! Get to know them and your community by volunteering with organizations or local initiatives you’re excited about. Attend food-focused events like the ones held by Food Forward or Center for Social Innovation, ask questions and put in your two cents. Go through a farming internship program or donate a few weekends on a farm if you have the time. Getting your hands in the field is really rewarding, very helpful to a farmer and also gives you a small glimpse at the intense work (and love!) that goes in to our food production. It’s also a ton of fun, you can take home some great fresh produce (that you helped grow) and meet a lot of new, like-minded friends. Also, if you have an idea – make it happen! There’s a lot of opportunity for entrepreneurship and job creation within the food movement. Plus, you’ll receive a lot of support through the great network you will create by volunteering, attending events and introducing yourself.
What issue/passion inspires you to keep doing the work you do day after day?
Working with passionate people to help create change through fun and pleasurable experiences is what I love. If I can help bring people together over food, and contribute in a memorable and meaningful way while making a difference, I’m a very happy lady.
What is one of your favourite memories of eating in community?
I traveled through South America and spent about 5 weeks in a hostel in Bogota owned by one of the most eccentric, adventurous and wonderful women I have ever met. She was appropriately named Alegria (meaning Joy) and we became really great friends. Every week, one of us among our close circle would write what we wanted to cook on a board and people would sign up for the meal. A lot of us would do a shop at the huge market downtown and come back to prepare together. I would make my comfort foods (jerk chicken, Moroccan lemon chicken or a curry of sorts) and she would show us how to make authentic Colombian food like Ajiaco, a traditional soup from Bogota. It always ended up being a giant feast with a table that grew every time someone walked in the kitchen. We would all share stories, swap cultural traditions, drink Aguardiente (Colombian spirit) and wine and dance until the early morning. Food is such a great connector and was a sure way to make friends with strangers!
What is one change you’d like to see happen within the food system and why?
A big change I would love to see is for the government to form a Ministry of Food Security similar to that of Belo Horizonte in Brazil. The city declared that their citizens had a right to food and with that came a number of innovative and supportive programs from production right down to distribution including communal fixed priced restaurants, organic urban agriculture development, school education programs, farmer support programs, local food procurement for public facilities, food market development, etc… People visit from all around the world (myself included!) to study and tour their various initiatives that the government is leading to achieve greater accessibility to fresh local food.
What has been your most meaningful and rewarding work to date?
The Leslieville Farmers’ Market has been one of the most rewarding “work” experiences of my life so far. To say it nourishes the soul is an understatement. What started off as an idea snowballed in to a great not-for-profit with an enthusiastic, creative and incredible group of people – our outstanding farmers and producers, volunteers, board members, our market manager extraordinaire, Daniel Taylor, and our ferociously supportive community – it’s a complete gift to get to be a part of such an entity. There’s a lot of work (and jokes) that go on behind the scenes and it’s a product of love and passion for everyone involved. Over the years, hundreds of new relationships have been made, local businesses have grown and the city has invested in the park space. Community members have built it in to their weekly routine and now, seeing them spend the day on the grass listening to a great blues band eating their favourite local market snack is one of my biggest pleasures. Plus there’s all of the dancing babies and cute puppies.
This post is part of the HH Food Makers and Changers series, introducing you to friends in the food community that are making a big difference.