Guide to ordering direct from Victoria’s local producers

Small-scale producers are bending over backwards to keep Victorians stocked with fresh produce during the coronavirus pandemic.

Local producers are keeping Victorians well stocked with food during the coronavirus pandemic. The Weekly Times #itstartswithag campaign is highlighting all the hardworking farmers committed to keeping the food supply chain running.

VICTORIA’S small-scale producers have coped with the coronavirus pandemic by upping production, launching online farmers’ markets, opening eCommerce websites and starting doorstep deliveries of everything from fruit and vegies to dairy, meat and eggs.

Check out our picks of nimble agriculture businesses that have adapted to the crisis to keep kitchens well stocked.

WEEKLY SWEETS

Beechworth Berries’ Alessia Mambelli with a selection of the produce on offer through Wangaratta Farmers’ Market. Picture: Sofia Osele

Beechworth Berries’ strawberries, jams and cordials are available weekly through Wangaratta Farmers’ Market’s new online shop. More than 25 stallholders take orders through the digital market, for collection every Saturday. In addition to berries, market stallholders offer meat, eggs, dairy, vegies, pasta and flour. Jams, $6, cordial 750ml, $15, fresh strawberries 500g, $7.

wangarattafarmersmarket.com.au

LEG UP

Benview Farms’ full or half-lamb hampers are delivered to the door.

Stock up on fresh lamb with Benview Farms’ full or half-lamb hampers, delivered to the door from the Pilkington family farm in Victoria’s Pyrenees Ranges. Deliveries cover Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Melbourne, with the half-lamb box including about 12-15kg of meat with a leg, shoulder and loin, $18.60-$22.40/kg.

benviewfarms.com

A selection of vegetables grown on Mossy Willow Farm.

HARVEST SEASON

Mornington Peninsula market garden Mossy Willow Farm offers online orders for weekly collection on Saturdays from the farm gate at Main Ridge or Rose Street in Fitzroy, or on Sundays at Alphington Farmers’ Market. Customers can order their favourite vegies, with greens, roots, brassicas and herbs all on offer. Or opt for the farmer box, which includes a week’s worth of in-season vegetables, $40.

mossywillowfarm.com

Lard Ass butter can be ordered online for home delivery.

GREASE LIGHTNING

Made on the Bellarine Peninsula using cream from grass-fed cows of western Victoria, Lard Ass’s cultured, salted butter tastes the way butter should, creamy with a little tang. It is extraordinary in cakes and biscuits. Available online directly from Lard Ass, and also as part of WesEggs’ doorstep delivery service, the butter will last in the fridge for three months, or in the freezer for six. Minimum order $25, 225g block of butter, $9.

lardass.com.au

RISE AND SHINE

Saint David Dairy milk.

Burd Eggs has teamed up with Saint David Dairy and Dench Bakers to offer a trio of essentials, including free-range eggs, milk and bread, delivered to the doorstep. Available up to 40km from Melbourne’s CBD, orders placed before 5pm are delivered within 48 hours. Minimum order two dozen eggs. Standard delivery fee is $10, or just $2 for orders more than $30. A dozen eggs 700g, $7, two-litre milk, $5, white or grain loaf, $8.50.

burdeggs.com.au

GRAIN PRO

The Sharkey family’s Dry Creek Milling Co flour.

Micro-milling is the next big thing and Balliang East grain growers Chris and Kate Sharkey are leading the charge with their Dry Creek Milling Co stoneground flour. Grown and milled on the family farm near Bacchus Marsh, the single-origin whole wheat grain is cold milled to retain its nutritional quality. Sold at Jeff Jones Produce at Bacchus Marsh and The Farm Gate Shop at Elaine, 1kg starts at $5.50.

@DryCreekMillingCo on Facebook

Kinfolk farm at Moriac offers online orders of their vegie boxes for weekly collection.

DIG IN

Kinsfolk Farm market garden is selling seasonal vegies for Saturday collection from Ravens Creek Farm at Moriac. Run by Bridie Cotter and Tom Gaunt on a quarter of a hectare, Kinsfolk Farm uses organic principles to grow more than 40 crops. Winter produce will soon be available, including root vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. They also sell Mt Moriac olives and Zeally Bay breads. Fresh vegies priced from $4 a bunch.

kinsfolkfarm.com.au

Lizette and Allen Snaith.

MEAT AND GREET

Lizette and Allen Snaith of Warialda Belted Galloway Beef are collaborating with McIvor Farm Foods to offer direct home delivery of meat boxes. With packs ranging from 2kg to 6kg, the meaty offering includes selected beef cuts or a mix of beef and pork. Prices vary.

wbgbeef.com.au

JUICE BOX

Kingfisher Citrus’s autumn produce box.

Fourth-generation citrus growers, the Fisher family of Narrung, have launched an online shop and direct delivery of their Kingfisher produce to keep people stocked with vitamin C-laden oranges and seasonal crops. Delivery is available to Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Mornington and Melbourne, as well as some rural regions. The autumn produce box includes 3.5kg of oranges plus shallots, limes and garlic, $28 plus shipping.

kingfishercitrus.com.au

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