Down on the farm: why Melbourne farmers' markets are thriving
Farmers' markets are booming across Melbourne. Here are nine reasons to get out of bed and explore their rich bounty.
They are often lampooned as being outlets for an over-priced and gastronomically elitist selection of organic, biodynamic, gluten/sugar/dairy/whatever-else-is-so-not-hot-right-now-free foods.
But farmers' markets play a crucial role in Melbourne's thriving food scene by fostering local food producers and by serving as an incubator for small businesses.
Farmers' markets are booming across Melbourne. At least 35 are being held across the city in any given month, with eight starting this year alone.
Don Linke is the outgoing president of the Victorian Farmers Market Association, and manager of three markets in Melbourne's inner suburbs.
Linke got involved with farmers' markets 12 years ago when he was looking to establish a market at the Veg Out community garden in St Kilda. At the time there was one other genuine farmers market operating in Melbourne, at Collingwood Children's Farm, so Linke turned to that market's manager, Miranda Sharp, for guidance.
Dedicated to providing a forum for Victorian farmers and producers to sell their produce, the two market managers found they needed a way to differentiate their events from others.
"We found that a lot of these other markets were populated by resellers of fresh produce that could have come from anywhere," Linke says. "We wanted to introduce a system where there was some accountability about where the food actually came from."
Thus the VFMA was created in 2007 to accredit markets that host the producers of genuinely local produce. There are now 41 VFMA-accredited markets in Victoria (17 in Melbourne), up from 35 in 2013.
Linke is now a passionate advocate of farmers' markets and the role they play in the food industry.
"Food is political, and there is a lot of misinformation about food around. This is a way of cutting through that," he says.
While he acknowledges that farmers' markets may not always have everything a household needs and may be more expensive than supermarkets, Linke says they have helped make farming viable again for many local farmers.
"It suddenly allowed these farmers to entertain the idea of prosperity," he says.
Sharp says farmers' markets have brought food producers back into the public consciousness.
"It's such a rare thing that farmers really get appreciated for their work," she says. "This gives them the unique opportunity to really strut their stuff with nobody telling them what to make or what to charge."
Then there is the role farmers' markets play in fostering the development of new food businesses. In addition to being a sales outlet, markets are a weekly forum for networking, knowledge sharing and market research for scores of emerging businesses.
I should know. I run one of those businesses. Two years ago I was a struggling journalist with a recipe for chocolate peanut butter that I thought was too good to keep to myself. At that stage, the only thing I knew about my new business, 99th Monkey, was the single recipe I had in my head and the fact that I wanted to use peanuts from Australia's only organic peanut farmers.
So I turned to the farmers' markets. Through speaking with a number of market managers, I soon learned about the myriad registrations, approvals and certifications I would need to run a food business. Unwittingly, these market managers were my mentors in the formative phase of my business, providing me with the kind of information most people spend months or years in a business course learning.
I was advised that I should add more products to my range, organic peanut butter in particular. It's just as well. It turns out not as many people shared my enthusiasm for health-conscious chocolate peanut butter as I had hoped. Luckily the peanut butter was a hit.
Through the markets I made contacts with local nut producers, who have since become an important part of my expanding business. I have also learned from fellow stallholders where to rent commercial kitchens and how to price my products for wholesale customers. It is through setting up my stall at markets that I gained the exposure needed to get my products on shop shelves, and from fellow stallholdersother shops I should be targeting and which to avoid.
In a city with a food scene as vibrant and dynamic as Melbourne's, farmers' markets contribute to the continual growth and renewal needed to keep the industry thriving, while also giving primary producers – the backbone of any healthy food culture – a chance to make a sustainable living.
According to Sharp, watching this process unfold is one of the great pleasures of her job.
"We love it when one of our stallholders is able to tell us that they no longer need to come to the market because their business is doing so well outside of it," she says. "Or conversely when we hear from those who have decided they never need to wholesale again because they have found their place in our farmers' markets – that's why we are here."
Nine reasons to get out of bed
Pat's Veg
Pat's Veg was born when Patrick Drapac's fascination with the benefits of probiotic foods combined with chef Michael Zandegu's love of the fresh, seasonal produce he was cooking weekly in his stall at the Flemington Farmers Market. Pat's Veg is a true product of the farmers' markets. Not only was it born in and sold through farmers' markets, all of the business' raw ingredients are still sourced through those markets. But the pair have not stopped there. Pat's Veg is now sold in 16 stores and they recently opened up their own shop at 105 Sydney Road, Coburg.
Somersault Dips
When Kate Phillips returned from travelling around Europe late in 2013, she brought with her a collection of dip bowls and the idea of filling each with the flavours of the places she had bought them. This was the genesis for Somersault Dips, which draws on seasonal local produce to create combinations such as sweet potato with kaffir lime and fennel and white bean. Phillips says being in farmers markets has given her the chance to learn directly from consumers about what they want from her products and has given her exposure that has led to the delis and shops stocking her products.
Nougatine
Macarons may no longer be on-trend, but French couple Clement Eugene and Helene Kammoun give them a surprising local and seasonal twist that ensures they are always du jour. With flavour combinations dictated by the ingredients available through the very farmers markets at which they are sold (pumpkin and cinnamon is the latest combination), Nougatine's handmade macarons are now a staple for many regulars at the seven Melbourne farmers' markets they attend. The couple also make cakes and other sweets for private functions.
Pure Pie
Pure Pie began with Holly and Michael Carthew making pies intheir home kitchen in St Kilda in 2011 and selling them through the Flemington Farmers' Market. Through interaction with their customers at the markets the couple was able to build their brand's identity, as well as form strong relationships with fellow stallholders and producers that are now instrumental in their daily business. Pure Pie attends six farmers markets a month, supplies 50 stores around Victoria and now has its own shop at 383 Bay Street, Port Melbourne, selling pies with fillings such as chipotle chilli bean, spinach and feta, and beef, cheddar, Guinness and thyme.
Crabtree Salts
Alan Crabtree is a serious disciple of genuine woodsmoke flavours. Crabtree Salts began in 2010 with a focus on smoking Murray Darling salts. Crabtree took his products into farmers' markets in 2011, where he has greatly expanded his range to include smoked nuts, vinegars, oils, vegetables and even rice. Crabtree says being in the markets has provided him with the perfect forum to test new products, and given him exposure to wholesale clients. Crabtree Salts are now available through 10 farmers' markets a month, as well as 15 shops and wineries around the state.
Golden Yolk
Kristy and Danny Kean have been raising free-range hens on 32 hectares just outside Bendigo since 2009, selling their eggs through farmers' markets from the start. The Keans are dedicated to raising their hens in the most natural and sustainable way possible, and say that working in the markets alongside like-minded farmers continually motivates and educates them about how to refine their farming methods. Golden Yolk eggs available through seven farmers' markets and 30 shops and cafes in Bendigo and Melbourne.
Peninsula Fresh Organics
The Shields family has been farming on the Mornington Peninsula for five generations. But when Wayne and Tash Shields converted the family farm to organic, they looked to the farmers' markets to sell their produce. They now attend 16 markets a month, and sell their produce through 12 stores across Melbourne. The Shields say that as well as enabling them to make a decent living from their land, the farmers' markets have connected them with their customers and allowed them to educate people about seasonal availability and the lesser-known varieties of vegetables available.
Wild Timor Coffee
When four Australian soldiers returned from deployment in East Timor in 2012 with one tonne of green coffee beans, they had no idea how they were going to sell it. So they turned to farmers' markets, where they started selling green beans and ended up running coffee carts as the first outlets for their fairly traded organic Arabica coffee. Before long they were supplying coffee to stores and cafes, and earlier this year they opened their own crowd-funded cafe at 282 Sydney Road, Coburg. Wild Timor Coffee is now available in 15 stores and 10 cafes around Australia.
Spread
Chef Lydia Puglisi's range of chutneys and jams was inspired by the abundance of fruit she found growing wild in her neighbourhood in Port Campbell in 2012. Puglisi says that farmers' markets have been the ideal testing ground for her products, driving her to refine her range and connecting her with local growers. The Spread range, including rhubarb and rose geranium jam and pear, fig and ginger relish, is now available in more than 20 stores and cafes and nine farmers' markets across Victoria. Chef Shannon Bennett is a fan, using one of Puglisi's products in a seasonal dish at his restaurant Vue de Monde.
To buy Nick Sheridan's range of handmade Australian peanut, almond and pistachio butters, see 99thmonkey.com.au.
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