Anna King Shahab takes a trip to a Sunday market for a comparative grocery shopping experience.
Why is shopping at a farmers’ market so fulfilling? I took a wander through one of my closest, Grey
Anna King Shahab takes a trip to a Sunday market for a comparative grocery shopping experience.
Why is shopping at a farmers’ market so fulfilling? I took a wander through one of my closest, Grey Lynn Farmers’ Market, which takes place every Sunday morning.
It’s important to acknowledge that having the ability — physically, financially, or timewise to shop at a farmers’ market, whether regularly or not, is a privilege. For many it’s simply not an option.
I’m a bitsy shopper, with the farmers’ market an important stop on my never-ending trail. I often question whether I’m foolish, given the amount of precious time I spend sourcing food for my whanau — surely I could simplify my life by doing one big online shop each week? But I recognise that, for me, there’s immense satisfaction and enjoyment in buying food close to its source.
In the case of Grey Lynn, a member of the Farmers’ Market Association but a smaller, neighbourhood-style market compared to some of the large examples around the country, that means by and large buying food from the people who made it, grew it, or raised it. That said, market manager Carol Gunn says transparency is key. Sometimes (as with recent weather events) stallholders are encouraged to stock produce from other farmers in the nationwide network as that strengthens distribution and keeps customers happy.
It’s a sustainability thing
Shopping here, you’re supporting a diverse food network in terms of what is produced, how and by whom – versus what putting all our eggs (and everything) in a big basket, and you’re supporting zero waste goals. At Grey Lynn, you don’t see much plastic at all. Many of the stalls work a return and reuse system, and a reuse station you can help yourself to with clean jars with lids and egg cartons is at the entrance to the hall is a handy way of avoiding packaging.
It connects you to people
Whether you’re doing your mainstay food shop or just picking up a few extras, farmers market shopping connects you to your community. In an urban area like Grey Lynn, where it’s fairly easy to go day in, day out without so much as a hello over the fence, this is a way to make meaningful human contact.
It connects you to seasons and reasons
Visiting throughout the year you get to know what’s in season when, and you’ll find the price reflects the availability. If you bring rangatahi with you, they’ll soak up valuable knowledge around the food system and how to shop smarter, seasonally. Here, it’s easy to notice if there are gaps or shortages and, when you chat to stallholders about why, you get insight into some of the challenges to our food system.
Supermarket shelves have been void of eggs of late and at Grey Lynn, Carl from Nature’s Corner also has a reduced supply, but the difference is, there he is to explain why (in his case it goes back to lockdowns meaning reduced sales and a reduced flock, to the stringent consents needed on a new piece of land to increase the flock). But also here I found beautiful red kumara and flavoursome outdoor tomatoes — short in many other retailers — at Edward’s stall.
Every shopper at Grey Lynn Farmers’ Market has different goals. One might do the primary weekly shop there (hint: arrive early to hit the larger fruit and vege stalls to get the full selection) while another might cruise around picking up a few interesting-looking things. On this visit, I was aiming to gather key fixings for meals for the week ahead as well as some treats. Rather than being armed with a shopping list I simply bought what looked great, and planned out meals from the haul.
I spent around $230, which got me the bulk of the ingredients I used to make meals for the week. While it would be tricky to directly compare prices here and at a big supermarket, I reckon the cost of a similar shop is fairly similar, but the farmers’ market wins on direct-from-farm (often spray-free) freshness and flavour.
Here are some of the meals and snacks I made with the bounty:
Grey Lynn Farmers’ Market
510 Richmond Rd, Grey Lynn
Every Sunday 8.30am–noon.
https://www.greylynnfarmersmarket.co.nz is a wealth of information on the market including a full list of stallholders and a map of where they’re placed.
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