The first SAGE Farmers Market was held on New Year’s Day 2013 at Riverside Park, Moruya. Since that first sunny Tuesday afternoon, the market has established a reputation as an authentic and respected farmers market. In July 2014, it was awarded “Most Outstanding Farmers Market” at the ABC delicious. Magazine’s Annual Produce Awards – an extraordinary achievement in just 18 months.
When you buy something at the SAGE Farmers Market, you can be confident that the person you’re buying it from either grew it, harvested it or made it. That’s what makes a farmers market different. There are no middle-men, no wholesalers and everything was grown and made within our local area.
This market is also different because it’s held every Tuesday afternoon. When people can buy local produce every week as part of a normal shopping routine, it has a huge impact on the community. It means farmers can afford to stay on the land and continue to produce quality food in a sustainable way. It means the local economy stays strong and it means we continue to have access to the freshest, healthiest food possible.
Our market is becoming known for our famous 3 o’clock bell. When it rings to signal that the market is open for trade, there is an enthusiastic yet civilised rush for the best and freshest produce. The public demand for locally grown and locally made is enormous and shows no sign of diminishing.
Meanwhile, the organisation behind the market – Sustainable Agriculture & Gardening Eurobodalla – is working hard to revive the local agricultural and horticultural heritage of our region. Through training, mentoring and support, SAGE is helping families and individuals with a passion for growing get established in the area as farmers. The demand for sustainably grown, local, fresh, healthy, delicious produce is growing faster than can currently be supplied. The future of local food in the Eurobodalla is full of opportunities and promise.
The purpose of the SAGE Farmers Market (SFM) is to provide a marketplace for consumers to access locally grown or harvested food directly from the producers, under safe and controlled conditions.
It is the stated intention of the SFM to ensure and maintain an authentic market in which consumers can invest their trust that what they purchase from any SFM stall holder adheres to the SFM philosophy and ethos.
The SFM exists to support local primary producers and local secondary and tertiary producers who value add to produce sourced locally.
The SFM’s additional purpose is to educate consumers about the multiple benefits of eating local produce and products and to raise awareness of the seasonality of local food. It also supports the over-arching aims of SAGE Inc to provide assistance and education to new and existing growers in our region to adopt sustainable agricultural practices.
The SFM Committee will protect the integrity and authenticity of the SAGE Farmers Market by implementing and policing these Rules & Regulations and the accompanying Code of Conduct.
Any primary product must be grown or harvested within our local region and sold by the producer themselves. This is the foundation of an authentic farmers market.
The SAGE Farmers Market region is defined as within a ∼160km radius (as the crow flies) of the township of Moruya, Eurobodalla.
This extends to Shell Cove on the coast and Bowral & Myrtleville inland in the north, into the Great Dividing Range in the west and just beyond Eden on the coast and Delegate inland in the south.
Outstanding Farmers' Market