Grey Lynn Farmers’ Market

We went at possibly the worst time (during the fruit fly fiasco) but still, the Grey Lynn Farmers Market has a lot to offer. There’s delicious homemade cheese, pates & terrines, smoked fish and dips & olives. There’s a pizza stall with an impressive portable outdoor pizza oven and of course, baked goods galore.
Easily my favourite stall however the recent addition, Little Eats. Each week these guys have one savoury & one sweet option on offer made with as much local produce from the market as possible. This week was prawn tacos w tomatillo salsa and lemon meringue pie. With plans for second breakfast afterwards we went savoury. It was delicious– fresh & packed full of flavour. Definitely my not-​to-​be-​missed stall.
I do feel obligated to let you know that a lot of the stalls at the market at rather expensive. A lot of the produce is handmade and organic so it’s justified but just a forewarning… this is not your typical farmers market!

For the last couple of years I’ve had a part time job in Ponsonby and I work every Sunday. Since I live in Mt Albert, the easiest and fastest route to work is to cut through Grey Lynn. This means that every week I drive past the Grey Lynn Farmers Market.
After months of meaning to stop but afraid of being late to work, I finally got my shit together and left home early so I could have a look around the market before work. I’m glad I did. Now I don’t have to spend any time wondering what I am missing out on.
The Grey Lynn Farmers Market is held on Sundays from 9 – 12:30pm at the Grey Lynn Community Centre on Richmond Road, and is a great place to pick up fresh, organic, locally grown produce, fresh fish, and learn more about clean, sustainable living.
I put my mother on to them and she now regularly frequents these markets, choosing to buy our fruit, dairy, veges and eggs from stall holders rather than the capitalist profit driven supermarkets :)
Grey Lynn is known around Auckland as being a particularly tight-​knit community with a great spirit, and it is events such as these markets which are entirely organised and run by locals themselves, that emphasises this community spirit.
Bonus: The Market regularly hosts workshops that focus on gardening, preserving and other such home and lifestyle topics.

The idea of having a Farmers’ Market in the middle of a suburban area is still something I need to get used to, but it does allow green fingered souls to share their love with others.
I attended my first Grey Lynn Farmers’ Market on Sunday, and I must say — I wasn’t too impressed. Compared to the one in Mairangi Bay, this one was quite bland. I did see the cutest little pumpkins, and some other knickknacks of interest, but mostly just a boring old market.
Considering it is located on one of the coolest streets in Auckland, you would expect so much more. To be fair, I will give it another try next time, maybe I just arrived at a bad time.
For me, a farmers market should have fresh veggies, fruit and home made products, and I appreciate a touch of flair. Maybe that was what was missing for me.

I know farmers markets are supposed to be cool. And I know you can get some really cool food stuff from them. I thought Grey Lynn being Grey Lynn would have an awesome farmers market, but the Grey Lynn Farmers Market is just okay. It’s not bad, not at all, it’s just okay. It’s typical. Like you’re not going to rave about it when you get back to your flat. It’s just like a supermarket, in the way of you go there, you get what you need, and you go home. Obviously it sells things you’re not going to get from a supermarket, because why else would you bother going to a farmers market, but it’s not that exciting. It’s small compared to other farmers markets, and in my opinion it is actually pretty pricey. Meh.

Mostly undercover, this is a small market selling high quality food and seedlings for the garden. It is held in the well utilized Grey Lynn Community Centre on Richmond Road in Grey Lynn. An array of sweet and savoury baked goods, meat, fish, and of course fruit and vegetables are regular features. I particularly love the ‘trading table’ with the old fashioned honesty box, I have picked up eggs and herbs there more than once! They have a newsletter that I get emailed out to me highlighting aspects of the market for that week — whether it be a local stall that can’t make it for some reason, or the seasonal produce that will be available, it can be very helpful at times and I appreciate the recipes added too. If you want to join you can email
. They run every Sunday, 9 am — 12:30 pm, get in early though if you are after eggs like me, they sell quickly!