I absolutely love the trend towards farmers' markets. What better way to get fresh, small-scale, locally-produced, often heritage or organic goodies for conventional supermarket prices? The farmers must be loving it as they can sell for at or close to retail rather than being over a wholesale barrel. Why shouldn't they benefit directly from the trend towards low food miles, sustainability and organics? Yes, there is a bit of frou-frou but if you buy wisely you can still stay within budget.
The most venerable farmers' market circuit is the Veg Out/Collingwood/Gasworks/Convent workhorse. It is a fabulous market - big and varied - but if you live in the west, it doesn't feel sustainable to drive for 30 minutes on a Saturday to do your local/organic/heritage shopping. There's been a few local farmers' markets around here but none have impressed me. Recently I heard about the accredited farmers' market at the Showgrounds though, so last rainy Sunday we headed to check it out.
The Showgrounds market is just five or ten minutes' drive from Footscray, just over the river in Ascot Vale. It's in one of the pavilions. It is run in association with the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria and has been accredited from the get-go. Accreditation is important - it's your guarantee that everything is grown or produced by the people selling it. The Victorian Farmers' Market Association accreditation process is rigorous, too.
Gorgeous fruit and vegies! We are in a local organic collective which buys bulk quantities of organic/biodynamic produce from the wholesale fruit & vegie market and via a members' roster system, sorts and delivers the seasonal bounty at cost price. Therefore I could only admire the goodies here today as my fruit & veg box had just come on Friday (although I did give in to some cut-price organic asparagus).
We always run out of fruit, though, so everyone was so excited when we found the apple-and-pear man. These apples are so good. They are a delightful size - not the bowling-ball behemoths you sometimes get - and are truly fresh and crisp.
Oh happy day!! Free range, old-style pork from King Valley Free Range. The Baklovers have recently decided to commit to free range pork and chicken. It is more expensive but we have decided to reorder some priorities. The conventional farming methods for these animals are pretty horrific. It's a good decision and we are really excited about it. We don't eat much meat anyway and to balance the budget, are going to try using less meat again - putting one chicken thigh through a whole pasta sauce, instead of having a piece of grilled chicken per family member plus pasta on the side.
The haul! Grass-fed snags (on special for $5), 500 g free-range pork ($13), a dozen free range googs ($4), 10 biodynamic kiwi fruit for $3, asparagus "seconds" for $6 and $17 worth of chemical-free apples and pears (about 3.5 kg). We got the Sunny Ridge jam for free for answering a survey. Score!! My only complaint is there was no chicken but I see on the website that Yapunyah Meadow Grazed chicken had a week off and is back this weekend. Unreal - fingers crossed they sell chicken bones.
The Showgrounds Farmers' Market website is really nice with a great community feel. They have a membership program, "The Weekly Carrot", which for $50 per year you get free parking (normally $3), free craft activities for the kids (10am-11am, I believe) plus other bonus goodies. King Valley Pork was giving away a packet of vin cotto pork sausages with purchase for every member. This is a great little market, but it is little. Get on down there and support it - hopefully with more attendees it will continue to grow. See you there next weekend!
Melbourne Showgrounds Farmers' Market
Federation Hall, Showgrounds (access via St Leonards Crescent, off Langs Rd, Ascot Vale) (map)
Hours: Every Sunday, 9am-1pm
Access: Uneven, partially graded carpark but otherwise smooth ramps everywhere.
Layout: Plenty of room to manoeuvre.
Bathroom: ?
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