July 21st, 2026

It's easier than ever to order online and have us delivered.

The goal has always been real simple - make real food easier to get.
Please note: Everything in this newsletter is available for free delivery, and we update it regularly based on what’s in stock at the hub. Please read all details on free delivery sale page before ordering - 

Min $30 order.

New to Small Scale Farms? Enter 10%OFF before you check out and save 10% off your entire order - AND have us delivered for free!

Our pick-and-pack section is the most affordable way to feed your family.
Come by and fill a half-bushel basket with whatever you'd like from this section, for just $30 - and it helps us keep food moving so nothing goes to waste and prices stay reasonable. Win win.

We have great deals on now at The Hub, while quantities last. 

Plus we have freezers full and our meat sampler bags fully stocked, so you can come try our meat and taste the difference for yourself.

We are open to the public Monday, Tuesday 9-4pm. Wed to Friday 9–5, Saturday 9–4, and Sunday 10–4 - 13145 Lundy's Lane

View Directions To Small Scale Farms

Start by asking yourself one question.

How did we get to a place where feeding people has become such a massive industry?

And I'm not talking about growing food or farming. I'm talking about feeding people.

Government funding flows into programs. Corporations donate millions to nonprofits and receive tax benefits. Food moves through layers of organizations before it ever reaches the people who need it. Farmers compete not only with grocery chains, but with systems that are subsidized in ways they never should be.

Somewhere along the way, we accepted that this was normal.

I don't believe it has to be.

Imagine if more of those dollars stayed in local communities. Imagine if they supported small farms growing real food, creating local jobs, protecting farmland, improving soil, and producing food without relying on unnecessary chemicals. Imagine if, instead of building bigger systems, we built stronger communities.

This isn't about criticizing people who are trying to help. There are incredible people working in charities and nonprofits every single day.

It's about asking whether we've designed a system that solves the problem—or one that simply manages it.

Every time control becomes concentrated in fewer hands, diversity disappears.

Diversity of farms. Diversity of businesses. Diversity of crops. Diversity of ideas.

And with that, we lose resilience.

Nature has always shown us the answer. Healthy ecosystems aren't built on monocultures. They're built on diversity.

The same is true of healthy economies and healthy communities.

We need diversity in the businesses that feed us, diversity in the people growing our food, and diversity in the ways food reaches our tables. Our food system should be no different.

We don't have to settle for mediocre food because it's convenient. We don't have to accept that the only choices are corporate agriculture or charity.

There is another path.

One where communities support local producers. Where food is grown in living soil. Where biodiversity increases instead of declines. Where local businesses work together instead of competing against subsidized systems. Where people buy food because it's good—not because it's all that's available.

The future of food isn't something we have to wait for someone else to build.

We can build it ourselves.

Every dollar we spend is a vote for the kind of food system we want. We already have the freedom to choose where our dollars go, what kinds of farms we support, what businesses we help thrive, and what kind of food system we leave behind.

It starts with us.

Looking for a little guidance, clarity, or connection? We’re pleased to welcome Mélanie Beamer, International Medium and Oracle Card Reader, to Small Scale Farms. Mélanie will be offering 15-minute Mediumship and Oracle Card Readings for $30 per session, connecting with loved ones in Spirit and offering guidance to support your life journey.

Even better, 100% of the $30 from every reading will be used to purchase a fresh produce voucher for our Feed the Need Voucher Wall, helping feed it forward by making fresh, local food available to someone in our community who could use a helping hand. It’s a meaningful way to receive a reading while making a direct impact close to home. We hope you’ll join us for this special event.

-- Shout out to Melanie, another community member stepping up to use their skills to give back is exactly what we hoped this space would become. It’s about neighbours supporting neighbours, each in their own unique way, while helping make fresh food more accessible in our community.

Start your morning with real food.

Comfort Farms Pork Sausage Patties are made from premium Ontario-raised pork and lightly seasoned to let the quality of the meat shine. They're perfect for breakfast sandwiches, a traditional farmhouse breakfast, or alongside eggs and pancakes.

Raised without antibiotics or added hormones, these patties are made with simple ingredients and are frozen for freshness, making them easy to keep on hand for a quick, hearty meal.

A freezer staple you'll reach for again and again.

Huge Shout Out to Talkin Funny - Always out there trying to make the community a better place!

One of the unexpected highlights of this week came from Deanna at Beyond the Streets. a local outreach organization that works directly with people facing homelessness, addiction, poverty, and other difficult circumstances. She stopped by and surprised us with these beautiful flowers as a thank you for the support we’ve given them over the years. The funny part is that I felt like I should have been thanking her instead. The people at Beyond the Streets do incredibly difficult work with compassion, courage, and consistency. They step up when others walk away, lead when leadership is needed, and keep showing up for people who are often overlooked. Every opportunity I’ve had to support them has simply felt like the right thing to do.

Those flowers ended up becoming something even more meaningful. Instead of selling them, we decided to give them away. Some went to people who looked like they could use a little encouragement, some to wonderful customers, and some to friends who have supported us through the years. Watching the smiles on people’s faces has been a reminder that kindness has a ripple effect. One thoughtful gesture inspired another, and over the last couple of days we’ve been lucky enough to witness that firsthand. 

Real food, made easy. Add veggies to your order and we’ll bring it straight to your door.

Check out our vegetable section for free delivery.👇

Locally made mushroom blend designed to support energy, focus, and overall wellness — an easy way to add functional mushrooms into your daily routine.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a pie graph I had been building around poverty in Ontario.

The reason I started doing it was simple: I felt like we weren’t actually seeing the real numbers anymore.

So I started digging into the statistics myself.

How many people are on social assistance?  How many are on EI?  How many are working part time?  How many are considered “working poor”?  How many people are technically employed but still struggling to survive?

I wanted to understand the actual economic makeup of the province - not politically, not emotionally, but mathematically.

And before I even touched what we traditionally call the “middle class,” I had already landed at nearly 50% of the population living in poverty, near-poverty, or economically fragile conditions.

But after sitting with it longer, I realized I had left something major out of the equation:

The middle class.

And honestly, I shouldn’t have.

Because the more I thought about it, the more I started realizing that the middle class may actually be in deeper danger than many people officially categorized as “poor.”

Not because they necessarily make less money.  But because they have more debt.

Massive debt.

Mortgages. Lines of credit. Car payments. Credit cards. HELOCs, (home equity line of credit). Consumer financing. “Affordable” monthly payments stretched over years.

For decades, credit created the illusion of stability. It allowed people to maintain a middle-class appearance long after real purchasing power began collapsing. And now the cracks are starting to show.

A recent federal report stated that nearly 50% of Canadians belong to the middle class. But that definition becomes increasingly disconnected from reality when you compare incomes against modern housing costs, food inflation, insurance, fuel, taxes, and debt servicing.

Statistics Canada data shows Ontario’s median household income sits around $91,000 before tax. On paper, that sounds solid. Years ago, that would have represented stability. Today, in many parts of Ontario, that income barely sustains a mortgage, groceries, utilities, transportation, childcare, and debt repayments.

Meanwhile, what’s considered “middle class” in Canada is often defined as households earning roughly between $57,000 and $115,000 annually.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth nobody wants to say out loud:
A household can technically be “middle class” while being one missed paycheck away from collapse.

That isn’t stability. That’s leveraged survival.

And we’re starting to see the cultural indicators everywhere.

Travel is one of the clearest examples because vacations are often the first thing families cut when economic pressure rises. Recent reporting shows Canadian travel demand continues to weaken significantly. Statistics Canada reported Canadian return trips from the U.S. fell again in early 2026, continuing a long downward trend. Other reporting found Canadian visits to U.S. metropolitan areas dropped as much as 42% year-over-year.

At the same time, surveys show many Canadians are avoiding travel altogether because they simply cannot justify the expense anymore. 

That matters because the middle class has historically been the economic engine of discretionary spending.

When the middle class stops traveling, stops renovating, stops eating out, stops supporting local businesses, and starts pulling back in fear, the ripple effects move through the entire economy.

And I think that’s the stage we’re entering now.

What concerns me most is that many people still believe poverty looks like homelessness or visible desperation. But modern poverty often looks very different.

It looks like families carrying enormous debt while appearing “fine.” Two-income households unable to get ahead. People avoiding grocery stores because prices trigger anxiety. Parents quietly skipping meals. Adults with decent jobs unable to buy homes. Households financing basic necessities. People one interest-rate increase away from disaster.

In many ways, the middle class became the buffer zone holding the entire economic structure together. And if that buffer collapses, society changes very quickly — not just economically, but socially, psychologically, and politically.

Because once people realize they followed all the rules and still can’t build security, trust in the system starts to erode.

That’s why I keep coming back to local systems. Local food. Local production. Local relationships. Local resilience.

Because the larger the systems become, the more fragile ordinary people become inside them.

And maybe that’s the real story unfolding beneath the headlines right now: not simply that poverty is growing, but that the line between “middle class” and “poverty” is disappearing altogether.

Locally yours, 
Small Scale Farms

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