From April to July 2024, marketcityTO conducted its 2024 Market Managers Survey, which aimed to understand Toronto’s public market ecosystem. Through this tool, market managers identified the areas they needed support in, which allowed us to prioritize the collective work required to strengthen the sector. The study likewise gathered data and insights that could be used to better demonstrate to City staff and other stakeholders the vital work that public markets do across communities in Toronto.  

Through an online virtual discussion, we consulted market managers themselves to ensure that the survey will meet their information needs. We then developed a comprehensive questionnaire divided into seven sections, focusing on the following areas: 

1. Details for the Toronto Public Markets Map; 

2. Market manager’s profile;

3. Promotion, collaboration, and networking activities; 

4. Personnel capacity and workforce; 

5. Vendor information and management; 

6. Operations, business models, and impacts; and 

7. Goals, opportunities, and challenges for growth

The four-month survey was disseminated to 74 market operators and over 30 FoodShare Toronto Supported Community Markets. An honorarium of $35 was provided to those who completed the survey, with a total of 46 market managers answering the questionnaire.  

Some findings from the survey include: 

1. On Professional Development: Market managers are keen on developing their professional capacities, but most did not have the opportunity to attend professional training or education in the past year. 

2. On Types of Market Organizers: Most public market organizers were nonprofit organizations, followed by for-profit organizations. It is worth noting that there is a considerable gap between non-profit organizers (68%) and for-profit organizers (15%).

3. On Revenue Sources: Market managers indicated that their market’s top sources of revenue in 2023 were: sponsorships, partnerships, grants, individual donors, and government subsidies. Vendor fees as a revenue source for markets was of particular interest, as it was cited as both the highest and the lowest for certain markets, with only a one-point difference between the two.  

4. On Vendor Sales: Market managers do not generally collect sales figures from their vendors, citing various reasons such as vendor privacy/confidentiality, lack of capacity or tools, and non-inclusion in the market system or policies. They also mentioned the difficulty in engaging vendors to collect such information.

5. On Connection and Community: Market managers indicated great interest in creating and maintaining connections with other market managers. Their top two preferred methods of connection were through group emails and annual networking events. 

The 2024 Market Managers Survey was administered as part of marketcityTO’s stakeholder consultation process, the results of which will be used to help develop the City of Toronto’s Public Markets Action Plan. Aside from the survey, we also held several small group discussions and multi-stakeholder conversations that brought forward the gaps, opportunities and key recommendations needed to strengthen Toronto’s public market sector.    

For those who are interested to learn more, a one-hour virtual session sharing the full 2024 Market Managers Survey Report will be held on Thursday, February 20, 2025, at 11:00am. You may register your participation through this link.  

The full 2024 Market Managers Survey Learning Report can be downloaded here.  

Some featured pages from the report: