Buying local and supporting farmers is a concept Sunraysia Produce manager Dianne Boston is hoping more people will adopt. Brooke Littlewood spoke to her about the venture. Picture: Ben Gross
FARMERS are the lifeblood of Sunraysia and there’s no better way to support them than by shopping local.
“Local, local, local – it’s that simple,” says Sunraysia Produce manager Dianne Boston.
“If people don’t support local farmers, they won’t be employed – what would they do?
“Farmers are the lifeblood of our community and country – we need them.
“Shopping local keeps them employed in the jobs they have been doing for years.”
Ms Boston is no stranger to the “silver shed” on Benetook Avenue, having worked there for eight years prior to taking over ownership from founder Sam Buoke in October.
Today she is continuing Mr Buoke’s legacy by challenging the dominance of major supermarkets.
She says by buying locally grown produce people weren’t only supporting farmers, but were also saving money and eating fresh, wholesome and real food.
“I didn’t want to see Sunraysia Produce close down, I just feel like we needed to have it – we need to have local produce available to local people who care enough about what they are eating.
“This is something that is absolutely important to me – the livelihoods of local people.
“It is also about the lack of chemicals, processing and keeping the prices down.”
Wherever Sunraysia Produce can source produce and products within the region they will.
And if they can’t, Ms Boston says they will “try to get as local as possible”.
She says tomatoes are “really important” at the moment because there are so many grown in Sunraysia.
“People need to be buying local tomatoes, not out of town tomatoes.
“You get the taste, the flavour and they’re not fumigated – you can taste the difference, of course you can.
“You have a look at them in the supermarket and you have got all of these perfectly sized tomatoes, so the tomatoes that didn’t grow to that perfect size have all been wasted.
“They are gone, chucked out because the supermarket demand perfect size tomatoes, perfect size bananas.
“The waste involved in perfect size fruit and vege is ughhh.”
Fruit and vegetables currently in season include melon, apricots, plums, avocado, tomatoes, capsicums, beans, sweet corn, mushrooms, carrots and zucchini.
In the warmer weather, Ms Boston says watermelon and rockmelon “walk out the door” as do salads.
She says the store stocks a range of other products including dried fruit, locally baked Italian bread, granola, olive oil, relishes, meat and cheese.
With a bigger demand for dietary foods, Sunraysia Produce will also venture into gluten-free, keto, low FODMAP and vegan foods.
As well as the difference in taste between supermarket bought and locally grown produce, Ms Boston says the difference in price is quite significant.
“Rockmelons are about $3.99 in the supermarket, look at mine – they’re only $1.99,” she said.
“People are paying extra for the travel.
“For example all the mushrooms in all the shops are moved from Mildura to Sydney, and then are moved back to Mildura supermarket shelves. Maybe for logistic reasons they have to do it.”
Ms Boston admits while it has been a slower transition moving into local produce, there was no turning back.
“It’s there like it used to be, like you picked it out of the garden,” she says.
“It’s flavoursome and wholesome.
“It’s real fruit, not supermarket fruit, with real flavour and without a doubt you can taste it.”
