This Week in the Market – 19 March 2024

Vale John Latorre

The Melbourne Market community offers sincere condolences to the family and friends of John Latorre. John was a well-known and well-liked figure in the market, and his loss will be strongly felt by many. A funeral in remembrance of John will be held on;

Saturday 23rd March, 11 am
St Monica’s Catholic Church
820 Mt Alexander Rd, Moonee Ponds.

In honour of John’s memory, the Latorre and Grillo families will observe a minute’s silence in the market on Monday, 25th March, at 5 am. The family would welcome those who knew John to join in this moment of reflection.

We understand that many of our market community may be experiencing feelings of shock and sadness at this time. If you or someone you know feels the need for professional support, please consider reaching out to one of the following services:
Beyond blue (1300 224 636) beyondblue.org.au
Griefline (1300 845 745) griefline.org.au

In this week’s Market News:

– Meet Richard Sparrow BGIS
– Gate 1 Upgrade
– Upcoming Advisory Committee Meetings

Market News

Richard Sparrow, BGIS Facilities Manager (Soft Services)

Richard has an extensive career in cleaning, security and maintenance, starting his career in warehousing at Melbourne Airport before moving into the retail space.

With his experience, Richard brings a fresh set of eyes and a new perspective to BGIS, resulting in different ideas to implement around the market.

As Facilities Manager, Richard will be responsible for maintaining a clean and safe market environment for all market users and visitors, with a strong focus on innovative initiatives around waste management and cleaning solutions.

Richard has been working on site for the past month, gaining a deeper understanding of the market site and layout. If you see him in the market, he is very receptive to receiving feedback and suggestions from market users as he works to meet your needs and ensure everyone’s safety.

Richard is a passionate Carlton member, which for as long as he can remember, has been a frustrating club to follow; however, he is hopeful this year will be a different story.

Gate 1 Upgrade

You may have noticed Gate 1 looks slightly different with the addition of a dedicated visitor lane. It is anticipated that the addition of the visitor lane will lead to less disruption and wait times for access card holders.

Line markings are also planned to be updated to further assist traffic management at Gate 1. In the meantime, if you are expecting visitors or receiving deliveries to the market, please instruct them to use Lane 2.

Upcoming Advisory Committee Meetings

The four Market Advisory Committees are scheduled to meet on Tuesday, 19 and Wednesday, 20 March. You can ask your advisory committee members to raise questions or ideas with the MMA.

Advisory committees work with the Melbourne Market Authority to advise on Market operations and the fresh produce industry matters. Committee members are a great source of information and advice for Market users. To find out who the members of the advisory committees are, please visit the MMA website.

Ramadan 2024

Ramadan is considered one of the holiest months on the Islamic calendar and is a time for fasting, prayer and acts of kindness. Fasting is a private act of worship and during Ramadan, many Muslims observe a strict fast from dawn until sunset.

This year, Ramadan started on the evening of Sunday, March 10 and will finish on the evening of Tuesday, 9 April, during this time it is important to show consideration to those who may be fasting. It is also important to note the way Muslims observe Ramadan is completely personal and doesn’t look the same for everyone.

How to wish someone “Happy Ramadan”
You don’t have to be Muslim to wish someone “Happy Ramadan” or ” Happy Eid”. You can also say “Ramadan Mubarak”, which means: “Have a blessed Ramadan” or “Ramadan Kareem”, which means: “Have a generous Ramadan.”

Tenancy Movements in the Market

There has been some exciting growth in operators within the market, which has led to tenants expanding their market footprint.

AMV Fresh has moved from tenancy 129 to 29 and 31, and Mazcorp 5 has expanded from the trading floor to tenancy 129.

Market Gym Expression of Interest Survey

The MMA is currently assessing the opportunity of providing a 24-7 gym facility at the Melbourne Market. Initial feedback for the facility has been extremely positive. We now seek to gauge market users’ interest via the survey below.

If you would like to provide your feedback, please do so by Sunday, 31 March.

Click here to complete the survey

Children in the Market

Children in the Market will be back these upcoming school holidays, on Tuesday, 9 and Wednesday, 10 April.

Children must be pre-registered before the event and accompanied by their parent or guardian. Please complete the registration form here, print it, and return it to Customer Service.

A reminder to all market users, that children are only permitted to enter the Market on these two days. Infringements will apply and you will be asked to leave the Market should you bring your children in outside of these days.

*Please note: All submitted forms will be automatically approved unless you are notified otherwise.

Whittlesea Community Festival 2024

A better choice! was at the Whittlesea show on Sunday 17th, and what a great day it was. Ayse and Lauren were proudly showcasing A better choice! to the local community. It was an incredible opportunity to shine a spotlight on our stores with a fantastic $250 voucher up for grabs!

The response was overwhelming, with word spreading about the exceptional quality of fresh fruit we were offering for sampling. Seeing so many festival attendees showing interest in their local greengrocers was heartening, emphasising the importance of supporting our retailers.

Career Opportunity – Food Sampler

A better choice! is looking for a Food Sampler to help run promotions and demonstrations in-store.

Positive, customer-centric driven, and passionate about promoting Aussie-grown fruits and vegetables to support local fruit and veg shops
The position will be on a casual basis and will require travel to partner stores
Must have access to a car and hold a current driver’s licence
Please view the position description here for further details
If you have any questions or for those wanting to apply, please email zegan@freshmarkets.com.au and ahalil@abetterchoice.com.au

Melbourne Food & Wine Festival at Fed Square – Saturday, 23 – Sunday, 24

A better choice! will also be at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival this weekend at Federation Square, with team members from the MMA, Fresh State and A better choice! on deck to provide fresh fruit sampling and spread the word about our local fruit and veg shops.

The Festival showcases the best offerings in Melbourne and welcomes attendees from all over the country to sample the best of Victorian produce. A free event over both days, we encourage everyone to come along and visit.

Industry News

Agri-food sector on show at ASEAN-Australia Special Summit

The ASEAN-Australia Special Summit was held in Melbourne last week to celebrate 50 years of Australian engagement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

After 50 years of dialogue, agriculture is more important to the relationship than ever before. The Special Summit built further on our relationships, cooperation, and trade opportunities—something vital for Australian agricultural trade as ASEAN grows.

Click here to read more.

Melbourne Market Job Board and Community Notices

Forklift Operator – Market and Grower Supplies

Market and Grower Supplies is looking for a forklift operator for delivering stock around the market.
Duties will include:

Receiving/putting away stock
Keeping store clean/neat
Managing pallets
Forklift /buggy maintenance
Helping pick orders
Operating forklift instore and around the market
Must be reliable; we are a small team that depends on each other being there for each other

Availability: Monday – Friday. Start: 2:30am till end of trading.Call or Text Shane 0408 395 651 or Beau 0403 976 112, or come have a chat with us at Store 118.

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