A fresh food market and grocer in Wakatu Square on Achilles Avenue, Nelson, run by the Conning family, who grow much of what they sell on their own market garden. The family has grown vegetables in the Nelson Tasman region for decades, starting with cabbages, carrots and potatoes on the Waimea Plains. Their own farm grows 40 to 50 crops a year, from seed, with the range changing through the seasons: cauliflower, broccoli and cabbages in winter, strawberries, watermelon and corn in summer.
Because the produce comes from the farm a short drive away and is harvested daily, the family says it arrives fresher and lasts longer than produce that has travelled the length of the country. The market also stocks meat, alcohol and dry goods alongside the fresh range. The produce is grown to GAP (Good Agricultural Practice) standards.
The Connings Kitchen team uses the market's fruit and vegetables for the café and deli, so a shopper can pick up a ready meal as well as the ingredients. The business also has a second store at Appleby.
Our pick in Nelson for a shop where the vegetables were in the ground a day or two before they reached the shelf.