April 4, 2020 - Online communities around Croatia are now bringing Croatian farms to your doorstep. 

A tough part about the coronavirus pandemic in Croatia is that, because of the stringent measures in place, going to outdoor markets have become a thing of the past. 

The once-bustling markets, loud with sellers luring in buyers by convincing them that their product is the best, are mostly bleak and vacant until we’re on the other side of the coronavirus battle. 

However, one small light in the coronavirus pandemic is that it has forced creativity in order to sustain businesses, and Croatian farms that formerly only had a presence at their market stands now belong to large online communities. 

Who could have imagined a week ago, our babas and didas' eggs and produce would be advertised and sold online to be delivered to your doorstep? No one! But here we are.

With just one click, fish, fresh fruits, vegetables, honey, and eggs from your favorite sellers can be found on your doorstep the next day. 

The large number of virtual marketplaces that opened from Osijek to Dubrovnik testify that the OPGs, or Croatian farms, are determined to find a way to feed us all. 

A look at the online marketplaces around Croatia courtesy of Slobodna Dalmacija.

“Yesterday I ordered eggs, chard, young onions and radishes. A man brought me everything this morning, delivered to my door, and even left a small flower seedling as a gift. There was no contact, I paid them into their account, and they left me eggs and vegetables at my front door,” said a member of the Facebook group Virtual Pazar Split, which already has close to 12,000 members. Not only green products of local farmers are offered, but also delicacies from the continent, as well as lamb, cheese, and even donkey milk.

The virtual Zagreb market, however, gathered more than 35,000 members in a week. The group was founded by HSS spokeswoman Ivana Tomic. Food vendors can be advertised free of charge in Zagreb's virtual marketplace, where you can find everything from basil, to onions and mint, asparagus from Zadar. 

An official online marketplace was opened in Zagreb on Friday, and the launch of a drive-in purchase on the green market has been announced. About fifty family farms and artisans from the Zagreb area and its surroundings are offering products online.

On the page, you can see how they deliver the goods, delivery times, and what locations they cover. The profile of each OPG on to the platform has their contact information, product list and price. Besides calling them, customers can also place an order through a query that goes to the farmer’s email address.

Lana Šegetin from Dubrovnik founded the Facebook group Virtual Dubrovnik Market. It brings together members from Peljesac to Konavle, and all local food producers from the wider Dubrovnik area and the surrounding area can advertise and offer their products for free. More than 7,000 people from the Dubrovnik-Neretva County have joined the group.

Through the website kupujdomaće.hr, 450 Vrgorac family farms producing strawberries, apples, grapes, eggs, nectarines, honey, and quality wines could be found. Clicking on a fruit or vegetable icon opens a rich list of OPGs offering that selected product.

“I sell green onions, parsley, collards, leeks,” advertises an OPG on the page Virtual plaza - Neretva Valley. 

“We sell oranges, apples, fresh cow's cheese, seedlings of all kinds of vegetables, ajvar, lemons, sweet potato, and more,”

Citizens of Velika Gorica, Sisak, Pula, Osijek, Varaždin, Bjelovar can also enjoy virtual markets.

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