For a couple of glorious months each summer and on into fall, weekly or twice-weekly farmers’ markets spring up in the suburbs and favoured downtown areas. There is huge shopping satisfaction in buying fresh fruit and vegetables from the people who actually grew them (or at least from their friends and neighbours), finding great peak-season bargains and knowing the produce in question was picked when it was ripe.

A stellar choice is Dufferin Grove Farmers’ Market. Open Thursdays year-round (Dufferin Grove rink house, in the northwest corner of the park; 3–7 p.m.), it is well-known among health-conscious locals. Fun Guy Farms provides the freshest shiitake, oyster, shimeji and reishi mushrooms around, as well as Italian cheeses. Greenfields’ handsome veggies are often plucked from the soil or stalk just that morning. Nujima sells healthier alternatives to traditional sugar, including agave and yacon syrups. Popular items range from raw cacao beans to goji berries.

Saturday morning brings a bright-eyed gathering to a parking lot outside the Etobicoke Civic Centre (399 The West Mall, at Burnamthorpe Rd., 416-338-0338; 8 a.m.–noon). Vendors also pitch their produce in Mel Lastman Square, in North York (5100 Yonge St., 416-395-7582; Th 8–2). There are more vendors (about 20 in total) downtown at Nathan Phillips Square (Bay St., at Queen St. W., 416-338-0338; W 10–2:30).

The Friends of Riverdale Farm’s Farmers’ Market (Winchester St., at Sumach St., 416-961-8787; Tu 3–7) takes over a patch of Riverdale Park West from May to October. A number of downtown chefs frequent it.

In the burbs, the busiest and best supplied is the market at Square One in Mississauga, in the northwest corner of the car park (100 City Centre Dr., at Kariya Dr., 647-830-0216; F 8–4, Su 8–4). On a hot August morning, about 150 stalls vie for the attention of the multitude, most offering the gorgeous fruit and vegetables of the season, some specializing in apples or peppers or berries and jams, very few with anything exotic. Sturdy ladies with eastern European accents buy by the bushel for home preserving, pausing at the occasional bakery stall or trailer selling deli meats, adding a jar of goldenrod honey from Austerfield Apiary to their baskets. Sherway Gardens (25 The West Mall, at The Queensway, 416-621-1070; F 8–2) is a quarter of the size of the Square One market, but offers a very similar range of produce.

It’s worth setting your alarm on the weekend to hit the Village Market (9100 Bathurst St., at Teefy Ave., 905-707-5771; Sa 8:30–1:30) in Richmond Hill, boasting 25 to 30 vendors, half of them organic farmers, some of whom show up year-round.

Weston Farmers’ Market (GO Transit parking lot, 39 John St., at Lawrence Ave., 416-249-0691; Sa 7–2, May 19 to Oct. 27) is another gem. Tending toward the traditional, fare includes fresh baked goods, ripe fruits and veggies, and smoked country meats and sausages.

The York Farmers’ Market (7509 Yonge St., at Elgin St., 905-886-9992; Th 11–8, F 10–8, Sa 7–4) is a useful, sociable year-round gathering of well-established businesses. Stuart Carroll Quality Meats is a great choice for red meat, Ontario veal, stuffed lamb and calf’s liver; Reesor’s has good-looking turkey and chickens, many cheeses and deli meats. Liardon Pâtisserie Suisse is a friendly source of pies, pastries, butter tarts and organic breads.