Farmers' market reaps rewards all round

By Rebecca Maer, Eastbourne Reporter 

Once a month, a cheerful market sets up in the public space outside the Towner art gallery. 

Hundreds of people pour in to choose from piles of fresh bread, mounds of vegetables, boxes of gleaming soft fruit and hunks of locally-produced cheeses. 

The Eastbourne farmers’ market, which launched in June 2025, started with about 12 stalls and now regularly attracts more than 30 businesses. The next event is this Saturday (1 August).  

Its success within just a year is a tribute to the power of grassroots activism and collaboration with like-minded people to bring an idea to life.  

More than 1,000 people regularly browse the colourful stalls selling products including fruit, vegetables, soaps, flowers, beers, cheeses, mushrooms and even antiques under the cheerful yellow and white gazebos. 

Most stallholders report very good takings and one business, Flint Owl Bakery, did so well that it has now opened a shop and cafe in Meads Village. 

The spark of the idea for the market started within the Eastbourne Food Partnership with director Andy Durling, and volunteer and community activist Miles Berkley.

Miles took the idea to the Eastbourne Business Improvement District (BID) and the Towner art gallery who were all keen. A project group was set up with BID operations manager Luke Johnson and Towner events manager Hannah Jordan. 

In early 2025 they explored spaces where the market could be held and the legal requirements. The BID agreed to organise the logistics, setting up and dismantling the gazebos.  

“We wanted to have as smooth an operation as possible to make it easy for stallholders to participate,” Miles told the Eastbourne Reporter. 

Then business support organisation Eastbourne District Enterprise Agency (Edeal) financed more gazebos. 

Hannah Jordan said: “It is much stronger as a partnership. Towner benefits massively and it works really well, animating this space outside.” 

The market is curated with a selection of stalls aimed at reflecting East Sussex produce but allowing for wider criteria.  

The aim is for 80% local fresh produce and 20% non-food items.  For example, the market sometimes features a brocante market area for antique and vintage items. Live music is organised by the Towner. 

In a seaside town, the biggest challenge is weather and the gazebos cannot be used safely at wind speeds of more than 40mph. Frustratingly, a couple of the markets were cancelled due to weather. 

Miles said: “We find we’re all staring at the weather forecast ten days beforehand! We decided to have a ‘no cancellation’ policy, so Towner now provides space indoors if necessary. 

“We have made a lot of effort to make the market experience good for stallholders and businesses. It has now spread by word of mouth. We want to encourage relationships between farmers and their communities.” 

"It’s also about the circular economy and money being spent locally not put into supermarkets" - Miles Berkley

The stalls cost around £40 a month. This goes to the BID, which then donates £150 a month to support community fridges. Towner, a charity, takes no income from the market.

The market broke even around last Christmas, covering the cost of start-up equipment and gazebos. Organisers are planning to invest in more gazebos and the weights they require. 

And nothing goes to waste: last year, up to 1,000kg of fresh organic produce was donated at the end of the markets to community fridges. And Heron’s Folly Garden, near Mayfield, donates up to 30kg a week between community hubs around Eastbourne. 

Miles said: “Most of the stallholders report very good takings, better than most other markets. Most of all, it’s a social event where people meet people to socialise. Everyone remarks how friendly it is. 

“It’s also about the circular economy and money being spent locally not put into supermarkets. There is a shorter supply chain and fewer CO2 emissions with local transport and very little packaging.” 

There is a perception that farmers’ markets and organic produce is more expensive than some supermarkets. But Miles argues that market shopping can reduce food waste and, consequently, expense because people can buy exactly the amount they want and it stays fresher for longer.

What is the experience of stallholders I spoke to at the July market?

Ace of Bakes is run by Richard Hoadley, a professional poker player (hence the business name) who just loves vegan baking. A steady stream of customers buy from Richard and his wife Maria at their stall in the centre of the market. 

It’s all made overnight at their flat in central Eastbourne. “We sell out most of the time,” he said of the farmers’ market. 

His interest in baking stems from time he spent with his mum baking in the kitchen. He and Maria became vegan after a trip to Florida in 2019 when they were looking for a way to eat more healthily. “We were also aligned with the ethics of being vegan,” he said. 

Richard’s interest in poker comes from playing card games with his grandparents. The largest prize he’s won in his online poker career? He reckons about £35,000. Now he coaches players too. 

At the Greenway Fruit Farm stall there is also steady business for the boxes of gleaming cherries, blackcurrants and redcurrants.  

The young family member on the stall tells me recent heatwaves following earlier heavy rain have proved a challenge: “The fruit came early before we had netting so lots were eaten. And the heavy rain meant some of them split.” 

The stall of the Sussex High Weald Dairy from Duddleswell, south of Ashdown Forest, is run by Mark Knowles on behalf of the company, selling sheep and cows’ milk cheese.  

He said the market was going well. Mark said as a rule of thumb, up to 1130 was breaking even then sales after that were into profit.

One of the unexpected highlights of the market are the dogs: one regular four-legged visitor has 115,000 Instagram followers as jessandgrayson, the singing sight hound.

But whether you come for the crooning canine, the freshly-baked vegan buns or a punnet of cherries, it's a more wholesome experience than any supermarket shop.

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