It’s refreshing to chat to a local farmer, while poring over his tantalising spread of organic vegies that were freshly picked only a few hours earlier from his family farm on Hobart’s outskirts.

And there are few things better than spreading your fresh, locally-baked bread with a vibrant dollop of sweet raspberry jam, made with love by a local producer.

In our fast-paced modern world, where you can ask Google any question you like and have an answer in a split second or have an item shipped speedily to your door from the other side of the planet with a few clever “add to cart” clicks, it can be easy to forget about what’s right on your doorstep.

However, the global pandemic has given us all a stern reminder of the importance of shopping locally and it seems Tasmanians are now keener than ever to support local makers and growers.

A huge number of markets – in all parts of the state – are starting up again, following a hiatus during the height of the pandemic.

Others, like Farm Gate Market in Hobart, which is considered an “essential service” by the government, continued to trade throughout lockdown, returning to a more normal mode of operation in recent weeks in line with social distancing requirements.

Overwhelmingly, market organisers say their events are more popular than ever, with strong numbers of enthusiastic patrons and a boom in new stallholders. Facebook newsfeeds are brimming with upcoming events across the state, from smaller markets to more larger-scale affairs.

Dover, South Arm, New Norfolk, Kingston, Margate, Judbury, George Town, Ulverstone, Lilydale, St Helens, Launceston, Evandale, Deloraine, Devonport, Triabunna and South Hobart are among the towns and suburbs that have hosted markets in recent weeks, with many more planned now that summer, and the festive season, are both on the way.

There are some new additions on the horizon too, including a proposed Tasmanian Produce Market which is expected to kick off on Hobart’s Eastern Shore in coming weeks.

Run by the Hobart Twilight Market organisers, the new weekly market, which is expected to operate year-round on Saturdays from 9am-1pm, is likely to have 30-40 stalls, with a strong focus on fresh seasonal produce as well as some craft offerings.

“It’s something that we’ve been working on for a number of years now – we just used the downtime during the COVID period to really focus on bringing it to fruition,” operations manager Justin Davies says.

Hobart is lucky enough to have regular markets like Salamanca and Farm Gate – as well as the Hobart Twilight Markets at Long Beach and Brooke St Pier, which both return this month – but there is a real need for a produce-based market on the Eastern Shore, Davies says.

And with new apartments and shopfronts opening up and other new building developments in the pipeline, plus a wealth of parking and green space, the Bellerive/Kangaroo Bay area seemed like a logical, central location.

The proposed market is expected to begin on the Kangaroo Bay foreshore with hopes to later relocate to Bellerive Boardwalk, but all plans are subject to council approval.

“It will just provide a bit more convenience for people,” says Davies, who expects people to flock from nearby suburbs including Lindisfarne, Rosny and Howrah.

“We’ve got some wonderful producers who are really excited about connecting with the community.”

As part of the consultation process, market organisers sent out a letter of intent to surrounding businesses and Davies says the feedback was encouraging.

“Everyone is upbeat about it,” he says.

Davies expects marketgoers will be able to grab a coffee and shop for an assortment of fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as bakery items, fresh juice, flowers and giftware like jewellery and candles while enjoying some live local music.

He’s also hoping to secure a permit to allow food and beverages to be consumed on site, so people can sit and relax, and enjoy the ambience.

The market is currently calling for expressions of interest from stallholders.

Among them is 19-year-old Shikia Reid who hopes to make her first foray into the world of markets.

A full-time McDonald’s employee, Reid had visions of becoming a florist so she set about making that dream a reality

She works one day a week from her Sorell home, trading as Beautiful Bunches Tasmania, creating floral bouquets for gifts and weddings while also selling floral arrangements on Facebook marketplace.

And she recently secured a job working with a Hobart florist one day a week.

Reid is excited about the prospect of selling her flowers at the proposed new Eastern Shore market.

“I’m keen for the adrenaline of it, it’s going to be a lot of fun,” she says.

“I’m just trying to get my name out there a bit more and one of these days I might actually be able to run my own full-time business.”

Meanwhile, Davies says it’s great to see people – both patrons and stallholders – so eager to return to markets.

His Long Beach market kicked off for the season on October 16 while Brooke Street Pier is scheduled for Friday, October 30.

This is the seventh summer season of the Hobart Twilight Market.

“We are starting to hear comments that people are really looking forward to getting back to the market now that daylight saving is kicking in and the weather is warming up,” he says.

“It’s certainly a positive sign that markets are coming back and it’s a great way that people can connect and see each other again, in this whole new COVID world we live in.“

Davies says there have been lots of changes – including more staff to monitor numbers and crowd movements, investment in touch-free hand sanitising stations, more signage and additional cleaning – and the Hobart Twilight Market had been fortunate to receive State Government grants to help with the additional costs involved.

“The other challenge we face at the moment, is we had to reduce stall fees because income had been stripped from stallholders so we’re looking at reducing stall fees for an interim period,” Davies says.

But he says the essence of his markets will remain the same.

Hobart’s Farm Gate Market operator, Madi Seeber-Peattie, agrees that the pandemic has posed some difficult – and expensive – challenges for markets but ultimately the community has reaped the benefits.

“Farm Gate Market is an integral part of our state’s food security system and testament to that was our ability to trade during Stage 3 restrictions, providing an essential food service to our local community,” she says.

“Trading during Stage 3 restrictions was extremely stressful and extremely costly.

“However, the overwhelming support from customers, both in terms of attendance and adherence to our strict COVID measures, was in equal part about fulfilling their weekly shop but also about supporting our local food producers and ensuring that they would be there at the end of it all.”

Seeber-Peattie is currently in the process of developing a COVID-safe plan for her other market – Street Eats @ Franko – with the event set to commence in mid-November.

“We know that COVID-19 will be with us for the foreseeable future and so we need to develop a model that works parallel to the COVID-safe principles put in place to minimise the risk,” she says.

“There is a great need, particularly now, within the local community to come together, to share, to laugh and to support each other, and Franko, given its scale, is well positioned to meet that need in line with COVID-safe principles.”

The Bream Creek Farmers Market resumed in August, after a five-month break due to COVID.

Market committee president Ellie Taylor, pictured left, says there has been a wonderful new appreciation for markets since the pandemic hit.

“It’s been absolutely fantastic,” she says. “Our very first market back was even busier than we expected.

“We had management systems in place to keep under our allowable 500 people, even though we didn’t think we’d necessary need them, but we got pretty close to [the limit] at that first market.”’

Prior to COVID, the country market – held on the first Sunday of every month between 9am and 1pm – would typically attract around 500-600 in a day.

The first market back attracted around 1000 people, although they were spread out throughout the course of the morning, in line with COVID restrictions.

“The feedback and support that patrons are giving to stallholders is really appreciated,” Taylor says.

“Our stallholders have found, regardless of which market they’re at, they’re just going gangbusters – everyone is just selling out of everything.

“It’s really nice to see that support.

“There was such a long time where it was really difficult for [stallholders] to make sales … people really seem to appreciate being able to come back to the market and to be able to communicate face-to-face with stallholders.”

She says during the COVID shutdown, organisers tried to promote stallholders online and also ran online music events to support and promote local musicians who had already been booked and paid for upcoming markets.

“We just wanted to keep all of our stallholders in the forefront of everyone’s minds, particularly as everyone had turned their focus to online sales,” Taylor says.

But she says nothing compared to a real, in-person market where shoppers could meet and mingle with local makers and producers. And COVID had really reminded Tasmanians of the importance of that local connection.

Taylor says as an essential food service, the market could have continued to trade at the height of the pandemic, however, the committee decided to put the market on hold until patrons were again permitted to consume food and beverages on site.

“The social aspect of it is a key part of our market,’’ Taylor explains. “Especially for us at Bream Creek, that connection is just really important.’’

Taylor has been involved with organising the market for the past eight years and says COVID has prompted more locals to put their hands up for volunteer roles as they have realised just how important the market is to the community.

There has been renewed interest from stallholders too, both new and existing operators.

Eighteen months ago the market was averaging 15 stalls per market. That number had slowly been building prior to COVID. When the market returned in August there were more than 20 stallholders, despite the uncertainty of COVID and the fact it was the middle of winter.

“We’ve had a whole heap of new stallholders applying,” Taylor says. “Which is really cool for us, particularly because we’re a smaller, out-of-town market.”

She says with Salamanca Market currently operating as the smaller Tasmania’s Own Market, local small businesses were looking at other ways to make a sale and reach customers.

She says the threat of COVID had prompted people to appreciate the simple things in life, like going for a drive in the country to enjoy the scenery and pick up a few yummy offerings along the way.

“People always come for the vegies and for the cheese,” Taylor says.

“Pastries are a massive seller too … people like having a coffee and a chat.”

The Dunalley Primary School parents and friends association runs a fundraising stall at the market, so people were keen to return to the market and support that, she says.

One of the other popular attractions is the community stall, which is run by volunteers and enables locals to sell excess from their gardens – whether it’s a few bunches of flowers or herbs, some jam, a carton of eggs or a few bags of freshly-picked apples or apricots – without committing to booking an entire stall.

The community stall also features some produce from the Bream Creek Community Garden.

The garden is a separate entity to the market, and is run as a not-for-profit social enterprise by local resident Rebecca Kelley, but the two go hand-in-hand.

Marketgoers love stopping at the wooden roadside shelter, complete with a giant, glass-fronted fridge, on Burnt Hill Road, on their way to or from the market.

But many also make a trip to Bream Creek when the market isn’t on, just to stock up on supplies.

Locals are also huge supporters of the community garden and the wealth of fresh produce it yields, with up to 50 volunteers tending to the garden each year and plenty more buying produce from the stall.

Taylor says it’s yet another example of people’s growing desire to learn more about the food they eat and where it comes from, and to support smaller, local operators where possible.

“I think the appreciation factor has really kicked in,” she says.

“People definitely realise that face-to-face is a better way to do it.”                                                             ●

The next Hobart Twilight Market will be held at Brooke Street Pier on October 30 and at Long Beach, Sandy Bay, on November 6, from 4.30pm-9pm; Bream Creek Farmers Market is held on the first Sunday of every month from 9am-1pm. Hobart’s Farm Gate Market is held every Sunday from 8.30am-12.30pm; Street Eats @ Franko is set to resume in mid-November at Franklin Square.

The Tasmanian Produce Market is proposed to start in coming weeks on Hobart’s Eastern Shore.

For more information about upcoming markets across the state visit Markets Tasmania on Facebook.