Hamilton Farmers Market original stallholders Marije Banks, of Monavale Blueberries, Frans de Jong, of Southern Belle Orchard, market manager Jen Wilkinson and The Lettuce Man, Ian Kerr. Missing is Jono Walker, of Soggy Bottom. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer
The Hamilton Farmers’ Market has celebrated its 20th anniversary.
What started as a fortnightly event with 15 stalls in the Wintec carpark on Collingwood St in 2006 has since evolved into an award-winning, weekly market with up to 50 stalls at The Barn at Claudelands Event Centre.
There are still four founding stallholders attending every week: butchery Soggy Bottom Holdings, Monavale Blueberries, The Lettuce Man and Southern Belle Orchard.
Besides the locations at The Barn and the Wintec carpark, where the ACC building now stands, the Hamilton Farmers’ Market was also held at Sonning carpark on River Rd from 2008, before moving to Te Rapa Racecourse between 2014 and 2016, and finally to Claudelands.
Jono Walker, of Soggy Bottom, told the Waikato Herald he got involved in the market after seeing a notice about it in the newspaper.
“I really believe in farmers’ markets.
“I grew up in the UK where ... it’s very common to buy your food from the market. It’s so much better, fresher and more cost-effective.
“You can talk to the person you are buying it from ... [and] ask them how the product is made.
“You can do a big part of your weekly shop there.
“It’s also a good community meeting point. You don’t get people standing around in the supermarket chatting.”
When he joined the market, he had recently moved to New Zealand and had just started his business.
While in Britain, he “fell in love” with pigs, who he said were “very likeable animals” and useful to “renovate” a garden because they dug and turned over soil well.
“Pork and chicken are also the most abused animals ... The difference in taste between factory and farm-raised meat is huge.
“I immediately realised there was a niche there.”
Arriving in New Zealand, he started breeding pigs and eventually learned how to be a butcher.
He was initially reluctant to start selling at farmers’ markets, because it would take him away from his family’s kayaking and mountainbiking adventures at weekends, but his wife encouraged him to give it a try.
And he hasn’t looked back.
Walker started with a small vertical freezer in the back of his Land Rover, selling sausages and cured pork products.
Nowadays, he has a proper trailer with glass doors showcasing his products, which now also include lamb, beef, pies and curries.
At his first market, he sold products equating to roughly one pig. Nowadays, he would sell four times that on a good day.
His favourite Hamilton market days had been the first market at The Barn, where he slept on-site the night before to take care of a spit roast that was served in sandwiches and given away to customers.
“That was a cracker. About 3000 people came.”
Another memorable market was in 2018, after he appeared on TV’s Country Calendar.
“The market ... was absolutely heaving. I had customers all morning and got about 200 emails from people.”
As he became more interested in “good local food”, Walker also became involved with Farmers’ Markets New Zealand and has been its chairman for the past seven years.
He is proud to say he has visited almost every farmers’ market in the country, apart from three or four in the South Island.
He said, in his view, the Hamilton market was in the top 10.
However, his favourite was the Whangārei Growers Market, because it was a “no frills, just provisioning” market that had a strong focus on fruit and vegetables.
Walker missed the anniversary of Hamilton Farmers’ Market last weekend because of a family event, but he still shared his birthday wishes.
“I want it to be an authentic farmers’ market ... just [about] food.
“I want it to serve a bigger part of the population ... and be a genuine alternative to the supermarket.”
Market manager Jen Wilkinson, who joined the team in 2021, echoed Walker’s wish for growth.
During the peak season, the market has between 40 and 50 stallholders and, on average, 2000 people come through the doors on Sundays.
Wilkinson said she’d happily see it grow to 60 stallholders and 3000 visitors, and believed it could.
What made the market special was the people, she said.
“It’s a market family, really, an established community.”
Some of the regular customers had been attending since the market began, and some of the businesses were being run by the next generation.
“Seeing stallholders thriving, their success stories, is really rewarding.”
One such success was Kaimai Eggs, which started attending the market as a small operation and had since grown to “quite a successful business”.
While Wilkinson was reluctant to pick a favourite stallholder, she highlighted Monavale Blueberries.
“I absolutely love [them] ... It’s the story and their organic practices.
“They are in their third generation now and quite hands-on. Everybody [in the family] contributes.”
In her five years with the market, Wilkinson said there had been a couple of memorable moments.
“One highlight was in 2023, when we won the Organic NZ Farmers’ Market of the Year. I got to go down to Wellington [to accept the award].
“It was a huge, huge thing for us. It’s probably my proudest moment.”
Another highlight was a surprise jam from Six60 recently, and a visit from the Hawaiian Farmers’ Market Committee, which was in New Zealand for Fieldays.
“They were really impressed [with the Hamilton Farmers’ Market].
“It’s quite a different look than other farmers’ markets around the world.
“They hadn’t seen a farmers’ market inside before. Normally, it’s all gazebos outside.
“We also have the wooden stall tables that we made ourselves.”
She said the customer base was quite broad, including a mix of generations.
“It’s people [who] want to shop local.
“It’s fresher ... the people you are buying from know about their products. Produce is [often] picked on the Friday ... You can’t beat that.”