Rachael Koch

We're organising a VFMA accredited farmers market to run on the 2nd and the 4th Sunday of every month, complementing the other farmers markets in our local area. As well as all the stalls you expect at a farmers market (veggies, honey, meats, etc) we're going to include a veggie swap stall. We believe this will help encourage urban vegetable growing, further reducing the food miles of South Melbourne.

We think that all farmers markets are fabulous, but ours is going to have three extra things going for it!

1. Our market will be wholly organic. Every stallholder will have to show certification to prove that their product is organically grown. This will mean that you can shop with confidence knowing that you are supporting Victorian farmers directly, and that the food you're buying won't harm your bodies or the environment.

2. We'll run regular educational workshops. As a way to keep on giving to our community, and to encourage sustainable practices we're going to run workshops on everything from growing your own food in the city, to preserving the excess. 

We already have 4 workshops booked in for December and January, including: make-your-own-scare-crow, make-your-own-nesting-box, learn-to-compost and small-scale-worm-farming. There will be a fee for the workshops (always less than $20), but a concession price will be available for those members of the community who can't pay.

3. We're going to connect the city to the country. By giving our farmers the option of giving talks to the South Melbourne Community, we're ensuring that city folk get to know about some of the environmentally friendly techniques being used on our farms. 

Australia is a world leader in sustainable agriculture, and we think it's time that everyone was proud of our achievements. Some of the topics we'll discuss are keyline design, edible or animal forage wind breaks and many more.

South Melbourne Commons is already home to The Bank Street Art, Craft and Flea Market, so we have a pretty good idea of what needs to be done to make a market work. We're well on our way, with farmer engagement packs, marketing plans and council permits - all under construction.

BUT (you knew this was coming): WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!!!

South Melbourne Commons is still growing and a new farmers market is a big investment of both time and money. We've paid for membership to the VFMA, our council permit requirements, and all of the labour, but to do our market, and our stall holders, justice - we need a banner, some A-frames, and a kick-start for our workshop program.

We'd love you to donate, obviously, and we've lined up some pretty cool goodies for you if you do, but we understand that not everyone has money to spare - and if that's you, then we'd still love to hear from you. We're always looking for volunteers, to help with the farmers market, our community garden collective, or our organic food co-op. You can contact us on (03) 9682 5282, or email Rach at [email protected]