Spring has arrived as Canberra bursts into colour and flowers everywhere bloom. Canberra residents love fresh food and spring is the time to have it. But where do you go to get quality seasonal food? Thousands of Canberrans every Saturday head to the Capital Regions Farmers Market. It has everything you’ll want and need this Spring. The flowers are about, they have the freshest produce for you to sample and buy and you’ll get a friendly and relaxed atmosphere every time.
The Farmers Market is continuing to develop and deliver fresher produce from the growers to you. It provides residents with a source of regional and seasonal produce and promotes agri-business opportunities for regional farmers, by providing them with an avenue to sell their fresh produce direct to local residents. What started out four years ago as a small venture of just 18 stalls and some 1,000 customers, at Exhibition Park in Canberra run by the Rotary Club of Hall, has now become a major enterprise and has grown to more than 100 stalls per week and over 5,000 customers.
“The Market has been around since 2004 but has lately congregated a lot of interest which has helped with its development and growing number of consumers.” Market manager Rob Durie said. “It is continuing to grow and prosper and gather more acclaim.” “Recently Kylie Kwong visited the Market as part of a new book and series she is preparing and interviewed many stallholders. It has also received honourable mention in magazines and newspapers which have all helped to drive the Market’s customer base.”
The Market sells a wide range of products including fruit, vegetables, meats, breads, organic and specialist products, eggs, coffee, nuts, honey, seafood, chocolate, wines and oils, flowers and more.
One stall holder said “going to the Farmers Market was a great decision. It gives us a regular cash flow and most importantly it gives us the chance to talk to our customers and educate them on our product. Plus, because we’ve been going for so long now, we’ve developed good friendships with regular customers and other stallholders.”
The Market also offers a number of benefits to consumers. Along with providing an opportunity for Canberra and regional consumers to sample the produce, it gives residents a genuine farmers market, offering a diverse range of fresh seasonal food straight from the producer to the customer and an opportunity to discuss with growers and learn through weekly forays.
The Capital Region Farmers Market will introduce a new policy from 12 January to ensure customers know exactly where the produce they are buying was grown. The policy will see the Market’s sellers split into two groups – one shed for producers selling their own products and the other for those selling on behalf of approved producers, such as neighbours.
Tony Howard from The Rotary Club of Hall says that the new two-shed policy will further enhance the Market’s reputation as a genuine farmers market.
“We’ve listened to feedback from our customers and there seemed to be a genuine need for greater transparency about producers,” Tony said.
“The two sheds will make it much easier for everyone to identify the exact source and producer of the products they buy. In the larger producer shed, customers will be able to speak directly with the actual growers themselves.
To underpin the authenticity of the market, a panel of some 12 producers with experience across a wide range of products has also been appointed to advise the Market on authenticity issues and related policy changes. The Market are also about to hire a part–time worker to visit farms to check the conditions under which products are grown. The farmers selling at the Market come from the Canberra region and the central west and north coast of NSW.
All funds generated from the Market are fed back into regional communities and other projects chosen by the Rotary Club of Hall. To this date the Rotary Club have in turn financed $500,000 worth of community projects.
The Capital Region Farmers Market is held every Saturday morning at Exhibition Park from 8 am to 11 am.
