Markets, Roadside Stands & Local Food Finds in Frontenac & Kingston
Exploring local food is one of the simplest and most rewarding ways to experience Kingston and Frontenac County. A stop at a farm stand or market offers the chance to fill your basket with seasonal produce, fresh flowers, local honey or artisanal foods while supporting the farmers and small businesses that help keep the countryside vibrant. Some of the region's best discoveries are found just beyond the city limits, waiting at the end of a country road or around the corner from a neighbourhood market.
If you’re heading to Kingston and Frontenac County, make sure to leave room in the trunk of your car! Along with several farmers’ markets, the region is home to roadside stands where you can pick up meat, produce, flowers, maple syrup and more.
Farmers’ markets
Throughout Kingston and Frontenac County, farmers' markets offer a window into local life. Pick up just-harvested produce, homemade treats and handcrafted goods while enjoying the conversations and sense of community that make these markets such special gathering places.
- Frontenac Farmers Market, Harrowsmith
- Kingston Public Market
- The Katarokwi Indigenous Art and Food Market, Kingston
- Memorial Centre Farmers' Market, Kingston
Kingston and Frontenac County offer a rare combination of urban amenities and rural experiences. Despite being one of Eastern Ontario's most vibrant small cities, Kingston is surrounded by productive agricultural land and rural communities just a short drive away. You can spend the morning exploring waterfront neighbourhoods and the afternoon shopping at a farm stand, visiting an orchard or discovering local flavours at a countryside market.
This close connection between city and countryside has helped shape a thriving local food culture. Farmers, bakers, cheesemakers, beekeepers and growers all contribute to a region where fresh, local products are never far away. Throughout Kingston and Frontenac, you'll find opportunities to meet producers, shop directly from farms and discover the ingredients and stories that help define this corner of South Eastern Ontario.
Producers, farm stores, and roadside stands
- Butternut Creek: Pick up fresh flowers from this seasonal farm stand in Kingston.
- Collective Joy Farm: This year-round indoor farm has a Kingston store where you can buy plant-based, whole-food products incorporating the farm’s microgreens.
- Food Less Travelled: This farm shop in Verona sells foods from a wide range of farms in Frontenac County and the wider region.
- Limestone Organic Creamery: The Elginburg farm store is stocked with the farm’s dairy products and baking mixes, as well as products from many other local producers.
- Long Road Ecological Farm: In growing season, you can tour this Murvale farm on Saturdays and shop for garlic, onions, steamed buns and dumplings.
- Loughborough Heritage Orchard: Browse for apple products, condiments, produce and more are available in this Inverary farm shop.
- Maple Ridge Farm: This Sydenham farm stand sells various flavours of honey—including cinnamon, raspberry, chocolate and summer blossom—as well as fresh local flowers.
- Salt of the Earth Farm: This Lyndhurst farm has two roadside stands in Kingston, one in the east end and one in the west.
- Sonset Farm: Organic, pasture-raised beef, pork and chicken are available from this farm shop in Inverary.
- Waddell Apples: Apples, cider, honey and maple syrup are among the products available in this Kingston farm store.
- Whistler’s Bay: Stop by the flower cart at this Kingston farm for fresh-cut tulips, cosmos, zinnias and other blooms.
Every stop offers a chance to meet the people who are growing, raising, and creating the products that define this region's food culture. You may leave with a bouquet of flowers, a wedge of local cheese or a bag of freshly picked apples, but you'll also gain a deeper appreciation for the farms and small businesses that help make Kingston and Frontenac County such rewarding places to explore.
You don't have to visit a farm to experience local flavours. These independent food retailers work closely with nearby farmers and producers, making it easy to shop for regional ingredients and discover products from across Frontenac County and South Eastern Ontario.
Specialty food shops
- Bearance’s Grocery: Founded in 1918, this downtown Kingston store has strong relationships with many local farms.
- The Cookery: This Inverary business offers a wide variety of local products, including sauces, meals to go and local gifts.
- Daughters General Store: This grocery store in Kingston’s Inner Harbour neighbourhood stocks a wide range of products from local producers.
- Glenburnie Grocery: Buy local produce, meat, dairy products, jam, maple syrup and more in this shop in Glenburnie.
- Old Farm Fine Foods: This Kingston food shop and catering company sells its housemade sauces and condiments, along with foods from local farms.
Global tastes
Kingston's food scene also reflects the city's long history as a gathering place for cultures and cuisines from around the world. Alongside local ingredients, you'll find specialty shops and markets where international flavours share shelf space with products made close to home.
If you're a foodie, you might want to look for some global finds to take home at these delicious Kingston locations.
- Bobbi Pecorino’s Italian Wine Bar: Enjoy wines by the glass or bottle, along with light Italian fare, and choose from an excellent selection of wines to go.
- Cooke’s Fine Foods and Coffee: A Kingston landmark since 1865, this food and cookware shop is famed for its house-roasted coffee.
- Kingston Olive Oil Company: Taste a wide range of olive oils and balsamic vinegars at this family-owned shop.
- Pan Chancho Bakery and Cafe: This European-style bakery also features a gourmet food shop and a popular café.
- Quattrocchi’s Specialty Foods: Along with Italian pastas, olive oils and cured meats, you’ll find pickling supplies, Ontario honey, spices and other foods from around the world.
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