A Market for the community

The Capital Region Farmers Market was founded (and is managed) by the Rotary Club of Hall to:

Provide residents with a genuine farmers market offering a diverse range of fresh seasonal food straight from the producer to the consumer and an opportunity to discuss with growers and learn through weekly forays.
Build local agri-business opportunities for regional and visiting producers to sell fresh farm produce.
Provide a community dividend in the region - all funds generated from the Market are fed back into regional communities and other projects chosen by the Rotary Club of Hall.

The Market provides an opportunity for Canberra and regional consumers to sample the region’s produce. It is a community project run by the not-for-profit Rotary Club of Hall, the only rural Rotary Club in the ACT.

The Club has been delighted to do something positive to underpin the growing agri-business opportunities in the region, provide a direct and unbroken link between food producers and customers, offer a great seasonal food experience to ACT residents and support important regional community projects.

Planning for the Farmers Market commenced in late 2003, when a major analysis was undertaken to determine the dynamics of farmers markets. The first Capital Region Farmers Market was held in March 2004 and was established without any financial support or grants from governments or other sources. It started with 18 stalls and some 1,000 customers, and has since grown to more than 100 stalls per week and over 5,000 customers.

The Market offers a convenient alternative to a ‘farm gate’ for growers unable to secure on-farm sales or through retailers.

It is strictly farm/food product related. It does not permit art or craft stalls, clothing, general consumer items or imported products. The Market follows the fundamental but simple rules of authenticity, credibility and sustainability.

The region

To ensure that a wider range of products is accessible for customers, genuine producers attending the Market may come from beyond the boundaries of the Capital Region.

We welcome the fish people from the South Coast, apples from Batlow, the eggs and specialty meats from Grenfell, vegetables from Leeton, berries from Borenore, salads and olives from Hall, bananas from the NSW/Qld border country, vegetables from Menangle, Richmond, Picton and Leeton, tomatoes from Murrumbateman, mushrooms from Yass Valley, spuds, fruits, cheese, meats, nuts, breads, pasta, cordials, oranges, coffee, chocolates, cakes, honey and more.

Guaranteeing genuine produce

The Market aims to maintain the authenticity of the products and ensure its customers’ trust through simple rules:

Stallholders are genuine producers passionate about their products.
Stalls must have signs with the name of the stallholder and approved agencies must show who grew the produce and where it was grown.
Products must be fresh.
All stallholders must carry insurance or take out daily cover from the Market.
ACT health, fair trading and other laws must be observed, including rules relating to the labelling of products such as ‘organic’, ‘chemical free’ and others.

Environmental benefit

Capital Region Farmers Market offers a number of benefits to consumers in addition to freshness and access to a wide variety of regional and seasonal fresh food.

The Farmers Market helps substantially reduce food miles between the growers to your table. Food from the Market comes direct from the producer and in some cases has only travelled 10 kilometres, resulting in lower transport costs and carbon footprint.

The Market’s rules

In January 2008, the Market changed its Producers’ Rules in response to customers seeking greater clarity about the source of products.

The Market’s stallholders are now split into two groups – the larger shed for producers selling their own products and the other for producers who are also selling on behalf of other approved producers not present in the market, such as neighbours.

The two-shed policy further enhances the Market’s reputation as a genuine farmers market and makes it much easier for customers to identify the exact source and producer of the products they buy.

The smaller shed houses producers who are also representatives of products from market-approved sources. Each of these stallholders have a thorough understanding and knowledge of the sources of products and growing techniques. In permitting these arrangements, the Market fosters collaboration between neighbouring producers and also widens the diversity of the market by bringing in a wider selection of produce. In every case, the source, nature of products and quantities has to be pre-approved by the Market.

Genuine producers from the closer Capital Region are given priority in the allocation of all new stalls.

To underpin the authenticity of the market, a panel of some 12 producers with experience across a wide range of products has been appointed to advise the Market on authenticity issues and related policy changes.

It is a requirement of the Market that Stallholders display prices.

Competition and pricing

The Capital Region Farmers Market offers diverse quantity and quality of fresh products without restriction on price competition between stallholders. Prices are set by individual stallholders, with a premium on quality.

Where and when

Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC).

Undercover in the large buildings at the northern end of EPIC.

Saturday 8am to 11am

< Homepage