Please note: this is an old article
It was published in April 2015, so the information may be out-of-date.
The GV Food Co-operative and the Australian Grown Food Company are breaking new ground in setting up what they are calling The REAL Food Connect. The group that was born as Heinz in Girgarre died, now has members across Australia and believes it is building on the industry initiatives developed in local Economic Development Strategies.
Liz Waters from the group says “Our idea is simple. Over the past three years we have successfully supported 10 local businesses to expand and we have created a cider company of our own. We would now like to build 100 businesses into a co-operating team. The power of that team could be quite amazing”
Liz contended that “there is a swelling group of people who are looking for real connection with the people who grow and add value to fresh food. Many of us are demanding that our children are safe; that local growers, producers and their workers get a reasonable return for their energy, and that we build a sustainable and secure food industry for Australian communities.“
Will Dalgliesh, a Director of the GV Food Cooperative, added “We are talking to groups in local shires and creating fabulous packs of locally processed foods- sauces, juices, wines, beers and ciders, condiments and jams. We are overwhelmed by the amazing variety of high value products based on grains, fruit and vegetables that we grow in our areas. These are world class products being produced at reasonable prices and they are simply not available from the major supermarkets. We will put together a range of these packs (probably one pack for every involved shire for the moment) and make them available across our locality. They will be cost competitive and most importantly they will be ours.”
Steps are now in place for the program to be launched on May 1st. The group has established:
- Co-ordinator(s) for each Shire across the Greater Goulburn Valley.
- A website to guide customers to their monthly wholesale pack of local food products
- A smart distribution system based on the idea of a REAL food pantry in localities across the shire.
- Teams of producers interested in participating
- A large data base of possible customers
It is expected that the service could grow to 5000 customers per month over the next year resulting in
- More jobs
- More tourism in our areas
- More small farm ventures
- Higher incomes for small producers and their workers
- More variety in food produced
- Cross use of production capacity.
Ms Waters says she is happy to hear from any other small to medium producers who would like to participate. She can be contacted on 0499887044 or at lwaters962@gmail.com