This Week in the Market – 12 April 2022
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| In this week’s Market News: – Children in the Market – Melbourne Market Open Day: Volunteers needed – Foodbank Donations Market News Children in the Market  Children in the Market is back today and tomorrow for the first time in two years! We’re looking forward to seeing many smiling happy faces. As well as ensuring children enjoy their time at the market our biggest priority is safety. We ask all market users to be especially vigilant and be conscious that children will be onsite. Tomorrow is the final day you can bring your children into the market for the Easter school holidays. Please ensure children are pre-registered before the event and accompanied by their parent or guardian at all times. To register, please complete the registration form here and print and return it to customer service. Melbourne Market Open Day – Volunteers needed The MMA will be hosting a Melbourne Market Open Day on Thursday, 5 May 5am – 8am. The Open Day is a chance for those working in the hospitality and fresh produce industry to come and experience the Melbourne Market and learn how they can access the widest range of fresh produce and cut flowers in Victoria. We are currently looking for volunteers to help us showcase the market to its fullest potential. 3 – 4 Fruit and Vegetable wholesalers who stock an exotic line, that you would be happy to speak about and donate roughly 30 pieces of produce for taste testing (depending on the group size) 1 – 2 Flower Wholesalers who would like the opportunity to speak to the groups for 10 minutes about their business, as well as make a donation to participants 1 – 2 Provedores who would like the opportunity to speak to the groups for about 10 minutes about their business, delivery catchment, order process etc If you fall into one of the above categories and would like to get involved, please contact Zac Egan. Easter Trading Hours  The Melbourne Market will be closed on public holidays during the Easter and Anzac Day period as follows: Thursday 14 April – regular trading hours Friday 15 April (Good Friday) – Market Closed Saturday 16 April – Flower Market Open Monday 18 April (Easter Monday) – Market Closed Tuesday 19 April – regular trading hours Wednesday 20 April – regular trading hours Thursday 21 April – regular trading hours Friday 22 April – regular trading hours Saturday 23 April – Flower Market open Monday 25 April (ANZAC Day) – Market Closed Foodbank Donations  So many Victorians are doing it tough at the moment due to the continuing impacts of Covid. Foodbank has been assisting those in need by providing fresh produce to their 533 charity partners, but they are currently in dire need of more fresh produce donations. The team from Foodbank will be setting up a pop-up stand on the Buyer’s Walk in front of Customer Service and will be there on a regular basis to answer any questions you have, from logistics to tax incentives and everything in between. Please stop by to chat with the team to learn more about how market businesses can support Victorians in need. Toyota Forklift Special Offer  Toyota are currently running a special offer for the Melbourne Market. Purchase any new forklift from Toyota and you’ll get a chance to WIN 1 of 5 LHE150 Electric Pallet Jacks. With a lithium-ion battery, smooth manoeuvrability and ease of use, it’s the freshest forklift deal going around. Click here for more information. Everyday Gourmet Filming  On Wednesday, 27 April a TV film crew will be in the market filming for the TV show Everyday Gourmet with Justine Schofield. Please be conscious of the film crew if you see them throughout the morning. You may appear in the background during filming, please advise us if you do not want to be filmed. MarketFresh School Program  The MarketFresh Schools Program is pleased to be back in schools after the hiatus of Covid, continuing their education about the importance of fresh fruit and vegetables to junior and senior school students. The following traders have kindly donated produce to the program during the term. Without them, we would not be able to run this fantastic program. Loc Bros VB Sculli Mit Ong Latorres Fresh Produce Tresco Schreurs Medici Melba Fresh Perfection Fresh Kapiris Bros Mildura Fresh Australian Apple & Pear Co. Priest Bros Fresh Max A.S.D. Betta Produce Louis Melb AMV Sunzest Organic Young Sang Market City Fruits Mountain Fresh Wholesale Geelong Citrus Costa’s Bacchus Marsh Apples Produce Time  New Campaign – Win a Holiday!  A better choice! is excited to announce our next big campaign, which is designed to reward customers who choose to shop at independent fruit and veg shops with holiday vouchers. From May, those who shop local can enter by scanning a QR code in-store, with a weekly winner randomly drawn over 10 weeks. Entrants will also nominate their participating store, resulting in 1 point per entry towards the Retailer of the Year Award. What can retailers do? Display the collateral sent to you in high-traffic areas of the store where customers can easily see and scan the QR codes. Take pictures and share stories to the A better choice! national audience to gain more exposure for your store. If you want to be one of the first stores to be merchandised and help your customers get in the draw, click here to register. Win $1000 for your retail store  To celebrate the chestnut season in Australia, Chestnuts Australia are giving retailers the opportunity to win $1,000 for their store! More information here. To be involved with this promotion, please contact Zac. Job Board With staffing shortages an issue faced by many businesses Australia wide, the MMA job board aims to provide a platform for market users to promote current job vacancies. The job board is open to all A better choice! retailers to utilise. The MMA will be reaching out to external job networks to see where opportunities between job seekers and retailers can be matched. If you are currently recruiting, please submit details of current job vacancies here to be advertised on our job board and passed onto external job networks. New SMS platform The MMA is upgrading our SMS delivery system to better integrate with our customer database. From next week, this newsletter and other forms of communication will be sent via a new SMS system. Every effort has been made to ensure the contact database is consistent with the original system; however, if you do not receive next week’s newsletter via SMS, or you are aware of any market users who are not currently receiving the weekly SMS, please contact customer service to ensure your contact details are correct. Government Grants for Training Extended Great news! The Government has extended the apprenticeship and trainee program funding until 30 June 2022. Act now and you can still be eligible to receive a 50% subsidy on an employee’s wage, up to $7,000 per quarter when you enrol your staff in the Certificate III in Greengrocery. The next program course starts in May 2022, it is an amazing opportunity to upskill staff and teach them about retail in greengrocery. Call Theresa on 9258 6191 to discuss the eligibility of your current and new staff. Industry News Australian lychee harvest season ended just before the nasty East Coast weather events  Australian lychee growers were fortunate that the season had just finished before the widespread rain and flooding impacted Queensland and New South Wales. The ALGA also implemented a marketing campaign in 2021-2022 to drive general awareness and encourage consumers to enjoy lychees during peak season. Click here to find out more. Global Overview Onions  The global onion market is very varied at the moment, as many countries continue to feel the squeeze of higher costs of production and logistics. While most fruit and vegetable crops suffered a hit during the pandemic in Australia, volumes of onions were up three per cent, with 271,930 tonnes produced for the year ending June 2021.Click here to find out more. Melbourne Market Job Board  Do you have a vacancy to fill in your business? Email submissions@melbournemarket.com.au for the position to be placed on our online job board. Looking for a new role? Check out the online job board via the button below. View full online job board Ask the MMA If you’ve got a question for the MMA email it to: submissions@melbournemarket.com.au. Follow us  |
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