Madam – We were so thrilled about the Farmers Market making a resurgence but our experience was so disappointing.
Cakes and cookies there were in abundance, healthy foods not so much. There was a very small selection of fresh veggies. We could not locate the fresh eggs, mouth-watering curries and the breakfast garden. We were looking to take curry home and have breakfast at the market.
The dietician was absent as were gluten-free foods. Petting zoo? Considering the number of people expected to attend, I saw that there were no refuse bins positioned in prime locations.
There was a also a potential health hazard, as somebody had broken a glass bottle and the shards were still on the grass. An ignominious “somebody” should have been delegated to sort such problems out, as it could have resulted in an injury. We left within the hour and won`t be attending another one.
Jasper the Carrot
Response from event organiser, Zuliana Zaya:
“Dear Jasper the Carrot,
Thank you for taking the time out to visit our launch. It breaks our heart that you didn’t enjoy our event along with the hundreds – if not over 1000 of others who did.
What you should know is that we only aim to get better and better with the upcoming markets and it’s unfortunate that you have chosen to give up on us so soon instead of giving us chance to improve on what we were lacking.
You may not know this, but the Newcastle Farmers Market was founded with R0 capital and a dream of unifying people through farming and food. We were also founded with aim to promote subsistence farming as farming has become so commercialized, that the vegetables we eat are no longer healthy.
We shared our idea with Newcastle, and many people loved the idea, but not many people are farmers in the area. Those people who are local subsistence farmers have had to deal with the harsh winter conditions over the passed few months.
Cold weather and no rain means no crop, and sadly many of our local farmers can not afford the infrastructure to be able to grow all year long. This is something we also aim to change in the long run and have already had talks with the Department of Agriculture about empowering local farmers and getting the youth onboard with farming.
It seems that you may be unfamiliar with farming, so we would like to invite you to see the process of growing crop. It takes months to grow in the right conditions, and even longer -if at all- during winter. Many vendors were unable to attend as they have no crop. However, they have planted and will have lots to offer during the summer months, if you’d like to visit us again.
The veggies we had sold out within an hour, and our 3 fresh produce vendors were so grateful as they had never experienced anything like that before. They were scared to bring more vegetables as they were skeptical when we told them we’d be expecting over 1000 people.
However, they realised how incredibly supportive the community is and how we have a massive demand for organic vegetables and they promise to cater for the crowd on August 3.
The petting zoo was cancelled because the owner of the animals does not have sufficient licensing. There was fresh veggies at the entrance along with milk, herbs, mushrooms and honey. The dietician didn’t pitch. Gluten-free is a new concept to most of Newcastle, and although we urged vendors to explore this idea, they simply didn’t because they don’t have the knowledge to so we’re providing a class to our vendors soon on specialised diets.
Apologies for the broken glass on the ground- once we have sufficient funding, we will employ people for this as the Newcastle Farmers Market and not rely on the venue to upkeep their end. We had someone private stationed on the deck to clear bottles, and he helped wherever else he could.
We also employed two security guards for the day to make sure the public was safe, had a collection box for the homeless, we were the first market ever in Newcastle to welcome pets and offer fresh produce, food stalls and live music all in the same vicinity no matter how much or how little, as well as the first to promote a plastic free environment and we intend to make the market 100% single-use plastic free and hopefully our town too.
As for the vendors who never showed or canceled on us at the last minute with no warning and no time to find replacements, I’ll say this- people do not trust that youth business can be successful. Especially female owned youth business. But it can. And we proved it. We were successful. We were unified in our diversity and our imperfections.
We cant wait to empower more people through our market. We cant wait to create more opportunities. We will not stop until we are the best. Nothing is ever perfect, but in time it can cut really close. A step into perfection is our new, bigger venue.
We hope to see you again at our relaunch on August 3, good old carrot. If not, we hope you see the bigger picture.”
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