FAQs

  • Keeping food affordable for our Nelson Tasman community is at the heart of what we do. Our produce is grown within an 8km radius from the Appleby store and goes straight from the Connings Farm to our local stores — with no middle-men and minimal freight — we’re able to keep prices as low as possible while still offering fresh, quality produce. To really break it down this means; minimal costs on freight, no costs on middle-man commissions, lower costs on fuel & and vehicle usage. Our prices already reflect the best value we can sustainably offer. We truly appreciate your support – and thank you for shopping with us.

  • We’re often asked about weekly specials, and it’s a fair question. The simple answer is that we work hard to keep our prices as low as possible every day, not just for a limited time. By growing much of our produce locally and handling it ourselves — with no middle-men and minimal freight — we avoid the extra costs that push prices up elsewhere. Rather than starting high and discounting later, we price things competitively from the outset, so you can trust you’re getting great value whenever you shop with us.

  • Our focus at Connings Market Farm is to grow fresh, high-quality produce at a scale that reliably supports our local community.

    With 40–50 different crops grown throughout the year, farming at this level means carefully managing seasonal pressures, pests, and weather challenges to ensure consistent supply, stable pricing, and minimal crop loss.

    By using good agricultural practice (GAP) certifications, we’re able to produce the volume and variety our community depends on while maintaining strict food safety standards.

    Our goal is to keep local families supplied with fresh, affordable produce year-round.

  • Happily, we will be staying in Nelson. Currently, we are working on the design for a new purpose-built Connings Food Market to bring our full offering to Nelson in the future. 

  • We love helping charities out whenever possible, so please get in contact with us via our application form. Please note that we do have a donation cap each financial year.

  • The majority of our produce is grown on our own farm, Connings Market Gardens. These are all within an 8-kilometre radius of our Appleby market. We source the rest of our produce from local and New Zealand growers. This keeps our food miles and environmental impact low and our freshness and affordability high.   

  • Yes, we do. We have a selection of New Zealand grown organic produce, including carrots, sprouts, salad mixes, potatoes, garlic, leeks and onion bulbs. Like all produce, these are seasonal, so stock may vary. 

  • Nelson Pop Up – Yes, we sell a selection of dairy products including alternative milks and Oaklands milk, cheese, yoghurt and ice cream.

    Appleby Store – Yes, we sell a selection of milk, yoghurts, ice cream but no cheese. You can visit our amazing neighbours at The Junction who are artisans of things cheese.

  • Please email us at hello@conning.co.nz to organise an appointment with our sales team. We are no longer open for drop-ins and meetings are by appointment only.   

  • If you are looking to open a wholesale account with us, please email hello@conning.co.nz for an application form or fill one in online here.  

  • We are closed on the following public holidays: Anzac Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day and Day after New Year’s Day.

  • We love to support as many local growers as we can, however if you do not have a NZGAP Certification then you are unable to become a supplier and sell produce through our markets. This policy ensures that the produce we sell is safe for our customers.  

  • Yes, we sure do! You are welcome to bring your own bag or box and help yourself to the produce scraps that can be found next to the produce chiller and the back of house doors in our Appleby store. We are only able to offer you what is there. Please do not enter the staff only area to check if there are any more produce scraps.   

  • If we need any amazing staff, we will post vacancies to our jobs page. We always keep an eye out for friendly new additions to our team, so if you are looking for work, please send your CV to kerry@conning.co.nz and we will be in touch if we have any openings.   

  • Yes, we are more than happy to help you out and order in specific meat options when we can.   

    Please email your request through to hello@conning.co.nz and we will do our best to help you. We do need to know at least a week in advance. Most orders are placed on a Monday morning for the week, so before then is ideal.