Success for transitional local food initiative in Sumner, Christchurch

The Fresh Produce Market in Sumner will come to an end on Wednesday April 8th after a year of successful operation. Located in a covered courtyard opening out to the village mall carpark, the space has been used as a temporary transitional venture between the local property owners, Life in Vacant Spaces and local food distribution company, Garden City 2.0.

“The idea was to bring an unused space in the village to life again, but also prove the mid-week demand for genuinely fresh produce out this way”, says Bailey Peryman, director of Garden City 2.0.

Mr Peryman grew up in Sumner, and is happy to have been given the chance to do something unique and positive for this community. “A lot of people here helped my family when I was younger, so it’s nice to give back and also build on some of the more socially-focused recovery initiatives here, like the community gardens”.

Since opening, the shop space has been consistently frequented by around 100 people each week. “It’s been nice seeing how many people bump into each other and share cooking tips as well as general friendly chatter”, says Peryman.

Children have enjoyed playing in the space and drawing pictures to go on the walls, and several local bread-makers have tested their own business ideas. The Sumner Community Gardens have also sold produce and seedlings there are a fundraiser. As far as demand for the service goes, it has been successful, and very well-supported by the locals.

Garden City 2.0 was set up to support local organic growers and to increase the affordability and accessibility of high quality foods in our communities. “Our core business is working with growers and delivering into homes and pickup points around the city. To run a market-style operation was a bit of a risk for us, but Life in Vacant Spaces makes taking that step so much more achievable”.

Life in Vacant Spaces (LiVS) is a charitable trust, established to break down all kinds of barriers to help activate vacant sites, spaces and buildings in post quake Christchurch. LiVS offers a brokering and curation service to landowners and project partners, seeking to get win-win outcomes for everyone with their innovative approach. In this case, LiVS sourced the site, arranged all legal agreements with the landowner, brokered insurances for the project and got the power reinstated. Director and Sumner local, Jane Gregg, has been delighted to see a small corner of the village given a new lease of life with the produce market, while the landowners have been on hold with their repair plans.

Mr Peryman is encouraging people to think about how they can take this initiative to the next level, and has already discussed possibilities for a more permanent setup in the village. “There are plenty of passionate and entirely capable folks living out here who can turn this into an ongoing service for the community.” Ideas for sharing space with another business or retrofitting a container have already been suggested. LiVS is available to support new initiatives as well.

Garden City 2.0 is aiming to develop a new food distribution hub in the central city, opening in May this year. Peryman says this will help the business to re-establish their home delivery service and eventually expand it across the city. “We just need a cool store to make this happen, so we’re looking to raise $10,000 as soon as possible”. The company already have pickup points in the Sumner, Redcliffs, Mt. Pleasant and Heathcote areas, so in the meantime people can continue to get fresh local produce delivered by ordering online.

www.gardencity.org.nz/delivery

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