SUPPORT local has “never been more important”, says Yelta couple Briony and Brendan Guy.
The pair are in the midst of creating an Australia wide app named What’s Local, which will connect the public to local roadside stalls; including fresh produce, coffee vans and food trucks.
“Our town has so much fresh produce, people could sell it and we would be able to source much more local produce,” Ms Guy said.
“I really hope that it will open up people’s minds, by using what we’ve got and creating more of that community feel.”
What started as an idea two years ago, Ms Guy decided to take it further.
“I’ve always thought about it, but didn’t know how to go about it,” she said.
“It’s always been at the back of our minds, everyone has a smartphone now and it’s so convenient, we thought the app was the best way to do it.
“You can pretty much go anywhere in Australia and find one (stall).”
Mr Guy said the reason for starting the app began with wife Briony always scouting for local products.
“We buy all our fruit and veg local and we often go out of our way on the way home to stop at road stalls,” Mr Guy said.
Ms Guy said the idea to take the app Australia wide was to help people shop local anywhere they go.
“Originally we thought it would be so cool to have it here because we have so many fresh fruit and vegetables,” she said.
“But we want to do a lot of travelling, so we don’t want to roll into another town and not know where anything is and be forced to be buy from the supermarket.”
The app will display a map with all registered road side stalls near you, alternatively you can type what you are looking for in the search tab.
Vendors will have their own profile which they can update daily with opening times, photos, pricing of products and their location.
“If they go to a market they can change their location,” Ms Guy said.
She said the would also bring benefits to store holders that may be tucked away from main roads and harder to find.
“I thought how cool would it be if you had an app where you could just see what they’ve all got and where they are?” she said.
“I’m sure there are so many around here that you don’t even know about.”
If you are a road side stall owner and are considering registering, head to the What’s Local Facebook page and privately express your interest.
Ms Guy said the app was still a few months off but hopes to launch in early 2021.
“We’re hoping to get as many people through earlier, so when we do launch we’ve already got a whole heap of vendors on there,” Ms Guy said.
“The whole idea is to support the locals.”
