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Twenty years ago, a handful of local food and drink producers took their places behind rustic stalls made of old wine barrels on the Matakana riverbank, on the site of a former timber yard. Neither they, nor the site owners Richard and Christine Didsbury, knew if their concept of a farmers and growers’ market would prove to be a winner, but they all shared a passion to provide people with good food grown locally. Besides the Didsburys, the prime movers were permaculture champions Joe Polaischer and Trish Allen, of Rainbow Valley Farm, who had seen how successful such markets were while teaching in Japan.
“All the produce was being sold by the farmers themselves, it was all grown locally and each stall had a big picture at the back of the stall showing the farmers on their farm. So when the Didsbury family asked us to help set up a farmers market, we adopted that philosophy,” Allen says. “And we also adopted the philosophy of it being zero waste from the start, which it still is today.
” However, even she couldn’t have foreseen the huge success that the market has since become, consistently attracting thousands of people to Matakana every Saturday morning. “It’s phenomenal how popular it’s become. In the early days it was mostly locals, many in shorts and gumboots, who came shopping.
That has changed. Now, the locals come early when the market opens, get their shopping and leave before the crowds of visitors arrive,” she says. “Back in those days, Joe and I used to do workshops down there but, gosh there would never be room for that now with all the crowds!” The original 20 stalls have grown to 50 today, with a far more diverse range of food and produce on sale.
Some of the first pioneer stallholders have maintained a presence, even when their products have achieved much wider distribution, such as Matakana Coffee Roasters and I Love Pies. Others that have stayed faithful to the market as the range of goods and market itself have evolved and expanded including Lothlorien Winery, Mahurangi Oysters, Swiss Bliss chocolate and The Matakana Bag Lady. These days, the farmers market has its own marketing and communications manager, Tom Klockseth, who says it has undoubtedly acted as a launch pad for many nascent businesses and brands.
“We’ve had so many amazing companies start at the farmers’ market, it really has been a springboard,” he says. “We don’t want to take credit for all their amazing hard work, but Sawmill Brewery has been going 20 years, and they had a stall here then, plus more recently Daily Organics, Bohemian Cider, Matakana Bacon and Beach Booch, to name just a few.” However, he says although the market has grown extensively, its core values remain the same.
“We are still all about community, and sustainability is a part of every decision,” he says. “It’s still as important, if not more than ever now, that people know where their food is coming from.” Market manager Kate Arbuthnot agrees.
“In future, we would just like to keep being progressive in terms of reaching our zero waste goals, that’s a priority for us, and to continue to support and grow our small businesses, small farmers and growers, and give them the opportunity to connect with the community directly,” she says. “It’s really hard to be a small grower at the moment, people are not spending money, but we have a waiting list for stalls and we always try to make it work for people if they have an amazing product.” The 20th anniversary of Matakana Village Farmers’ Market will be celebrated on Saturday, November 23 with live music and giveaways, plus special festivities for stallholders from 1pm, including food, drink and a stall fee waiver for the day.
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