Get ready for an influx of fresh produce in the heart of Maitland.
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A monthly fresh produce market is kicking off on May 26 in The Levee and the city’s farmers are getting ready to bring a wide range of winter vegetables and end of season crops to sell.
There’ll be fresh beetroot, cauliflower, leeks, turnips and pumpkins, to name a few.
Slow Food Hunter Valley organiser Amorelle Dempster and her team of volunteers will run the market between 8am and 12 noon.
Farmers will set up a stall in the mall and put their own price on their produce.
“It’s fabulous, this is what we have been pushing for – local food for local people,” Ms Depmster said.
"We’re focusing on getting farmers there who grow their produce in this area.
“There’ll be odd shaped product too, but it will taste just as good as the perfect-looking produce.”
Ms Dempster has been pushing for a market for some time and said the success of the pop-up pumpkin stall in March, which saw 20 tonnes of pumpkins sold within 12 hours to help two Morpeth farmers, had made her even more hungry for it.
She said Maitland people wanted to support their farmers and having several producers in one place made it easy to shop locally. She was grateful Maitland City Council has supported the initiative.
The council has given the project a six month trial in the space and hopes it will help the council develop its place activation strategy.
A spokesman said the event would also be a catalyst for a range of initiatives in Central Maitland.