Support local: FairPrice launches farmers market with Singapore-grown produce, includes exclusive plushies and more, Lifestyle News
From Aug 2 to 3, FairPrice Group (FGP) will be hosting its first-ever Made in Singapore (MIS) Farmers Market as part of ongoing SG60 celebrations to support local farms and produce, they announced in a press release today (Aug 1).
It will feature more than 60 locally-farmed products from six Singapore farms: The Fish Farmer, Chew's Egg, Yili Farm, Sustenir, Green Harvest as well as Growy SG, and feature produce like fresh vegetables, eggs, fish, ice cream and more.
The farmers market will take place at FairPrice XTRA Jem and feature a variety of family-friendly activities designed to educate the public on local produce and why it's crucial to our country's food security.
Speaking with AsiaOne at the launch today, Malcolm Ong, CEO of The Fish Farmer and president of the Kranji Countryside Association, shared that Singaporeans are becoming more aware about the importance of local agriculture, "especially during Covid-19" when there were disruptions to foreign produce importations.
"Eggs coming in [faced] problems, chicken coming in [faced] problems. That's when people became more aware that there's a need for local produce," he stated.
Jack Moy, co-founder of Singaporean superfood farm Sustenir, also agreed on the importance of local produce for "food resilience" on a national level.
On a more personal level, he said that a lot of nutrition in produce is often lost in transit.
"For example, vitamin C, easily 50 per cent of it is lost within 24 hours of harvest," he stated, explaining that local farms will be able to deliver produce from farm to supermarket "within less than 24 hours", helping retain most of its nutrition and allowing consumers to enjoy fresher products.
Some highlights at the farmers market include: plucking a free local produce-inspired mascot plushie from the Lil' Cuddle Farm and having it "cooked" at the Lil' Cuddle Kitchen.
This will be available for every $60 spent in-store in a single receipt with at least two local produce items, limited to the first 250 redemptions per day while stocks last.
Other activities include: trying novel food products like Nippon Koi Farm's locally made spinach ice-cream, participating in a sure-win gachapon (vending machines that dispense toys) with prizes like Limited Edition Mascot Plushies from Singapore Food Agency (SFA), as well as enjoying flash deals on local produce, with trays of eggs going for as low as $0.60 and $6 seafood promotions.
In addition to these highlights, the MIS Farmers Market will also feature live cooking demonstrations with local produce, organised in collaboration with SFA to showcase how they can be used to create popular local dishes like egg foo yong and steamed fish with crispy chai poh (preserved radish).
For those who can't get enough of the local goodies, the MIS Farmers Market will be followed by FPG's annual MIS Fair, a two-week-long initiative highlighting locally-made products with discounts, promotions and activities across FPG supermarkets and online.
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carol.ong@asiaone.com
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