The Omicron-inspired supply chain crisis has left many supermarket shelves empty but grey nomads are in a better position than most.
Travellers out into the regions are finding that their ability to buy direct from farmers and specialist markets has meant they can keep well stocked in fresh food.
Experts say that fresh markets have largely been able to avoid the problems that have caused chaos in supermarkets.
Supermarket distribution centres have suffered staff shortages caused by the Omicron wave that has forced as many as a quarter of their workers to isolate, prompting Coles and Woolworths to reinstate purchase limits on some products after panic buying emptied shelves.
Yikes! Which way is the nearest farm, please?
Supermarket distribution centres have suffered staff shortages caused by the Omicron wave that has forced as many as a quarter of their workers to isolate, prompting Coles and Woolworths to reinstate purchase limits on some products after panic buying emptied shelves.
Chief executive of Melbourne’s Victoria Market, Stan Liacos, told the Guardian Australia that, in contrast, market stall operators don’t suffer from the same problems because they buy directly from wholesale markets.
“The way they purchase has far more flexibility in it than the way the far larger multinational supermarket chains do business,” he said. “They basically pick the stock, and if certain stock isn’t available from certain suppliers, they simply turn around and buy from others … they’re not locked into a handful of huge, watertight, contract-style relationships.”
The Guardian reports that stallholders have also avoided the bottlenecks caused by staff shortages in the logistics sector, where some companies have reported up to half their workers are unavailable.
“Most of them, I’d say the vast, vast, vast majority are actually transporting themselves – they drive their own trucks,” Liacos said. “So they’re not at the mercy of transport companies.”
He said this also explained why specialist fruit and veg shops also had plenty on offer.
“They are also usually only buying probably two or three days and weeks in advance,” he said. “Whereas the supermarkets, generally speaking through their cold storage requirements, they’re accommodating food throughout the year.”
Grey nomads enjoy getting out into farmers’ markets.
Even before the latest crisis in the supermarkets grey nomads had long been embracing the concept of buying fresh food direct from source.
Grey nomads looking for a more in-depth cultural experience are becoming gastronomic tourists, foraging for food, talking to those who supply it, and gaining a greater insight into local culture.
Southern Cross University academic, David Scott, who has researched the phenomenon, says grey nomads are under less time constraints than most people and can get to more out of the way places, and they are eager to see where the food came from and who produced it.
“They are discovering that museums are things that you can look at and maybe touch, but food you can actually consume,” he said. “Discovering food is a transformative experience … it is at the heart of the identity of a place.”
And regional communities have recognised the opportunity to attract more grey nomads.
A case in point is the Pyrenees Shire west of Ballarat, which launched a farm gate trail in order to cater to Australians’ desire to buy local, direct from the producers.
