Victorian farmers’ market managers confident despite latest setback

Farmers’ market stallholders face a new challenge, 12 months on from a pandemic-driven renaissance. But there’s a plan to turn things around.

People practising social distancing at a farmer’s market in the Melbourne suburb of Coburg last year. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Daniel Pockett

IT HAS been one year since Victorian farmers’ markets turned the COVID-19 disaster into a rare good-news story, when they made huge changes last March so farmers could keep selling direct during the pandemic.

While some took a hiatus, 24 markets continued to trade throughout last year, and their efforts won new customers and record sales for producers.

Now another challenge looms, with customer numbers at markets dwindling. But managers are confident it’s a blip, not a trend.

Victorian Farmers’ Market Association committee president and market manager Chris Hain said the weekly Bendigo market experienced a big sales boost last year, but had suffered from a shopper lull since the end of December.

“We knew at the start of the year we would have to recalibrate our expectations,” Mr Hain said.

“We had seen a worrying trend where (customer turnout) seemed to be in decline.”

He organised an anniversary market recently, celebrating one year of trading on Bendigo’s new site in the city’s CBD, and said a fresh wave of support gave him confidence customers were returning.

“We had our biggest range of stallholders since our Christmas market,” Mr Hain said. “Even better, we had our most foot traffic through the market we had had in months.”

He said the market would renew focus on customer communication this year.

Mandy McClaren, of Yapunyah Meadow Grazed Chickens at Graytown, said farmers’ markets had been a sales lifeline last year, and she was confident organisers would reignite consumers’ interest.

Mandy McClaren. Picture: Chloe Smith

She and husband, Ian, sold at one market each weekend last year, instead of their traditional two, yet sales volumes at each market doubled.

“I have heard that sales have dipped a little in January,” Mandy said. “We’ve only just come back from our summer break, and did two markets this last weekend. Sales were still great.

“I expect we will see a bit of a dip from now on as a result of JobKeeper being removed.

“I do hope that people who did connect with farmers’ markets during the pandemic will continue to connect with and support farmers’ markets into the future.”

Impressed by VFMA’s advocacy work, Mandy joined the association’s committee at the end of last year.

VFMA executive officer Kate Archdeacon said the committee and managers worked extremely hard to adapt last year, and would continue supporting stallholders this year.

“The challenge we are very aware of is to keep the people coming who know how good the produce is, remind them that the simplest thing they can do to support recovery across the board is to choose where they spend some of their weekly grocery budget,” she said.

Ms Archdeacon attributed the post-Christmas downturn to relaxed travel restrictions, families returning to social and school activities, restaurants opening and uncertainty about the future of JobSeeker and JobKeeper.

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