From farm to plate with produce store

AFTER more than three decades of producing just outside of the eponymous town, Meredith

Dairy management are bringing their goods to the people with a new store located just off Meredith’s main street.

Located at 30 Staughton St, Meredith Farm Produce opened earlier this month with the aim of being a dedicated space to sell the business’ products.

“It’s sort of the end of the journey,” said Meredith Dairy co-director, and the shop’s director Julie Cameron. “You’re going from farm to consumer, or paddock to plate.

“Until recently we’d never felt the need to have a retail outlet. We get a lot of emails asking if we have a cellar door and a lot of places have stores on their farm which we didn’t want to do because it’s a large enterprise.

“Setting up the shop, it’s meeting the end consumer, and a place to showcase the products we make.”

Ms Cameron purchased the building about six months ago, and utilised a Geelong-based interior designer to help bring the space to life as a cafe and produce store.

While also featuring products from local businesses such as Inglenook Dairy, much of the menu has been crafted using Meredith Dairy products such as goat cheese and meat in things like tarts and sausage rolls respectively.

Honey sourced from the farm through a local beekeeper is also being used to make cheesecakes and other offerings.

Ms Cameron said Meredith Farm Produce is about offering something different for the community.

“In Meredith, we have two hotels, a takeaway shop on the highway, the petrol station which does food, but this is a different kind of meeting place,” she said.

“It’s a sit-down in a relaxed atmosphere to try food made with our ingredients from the farm. The emphasis is to promote the produce in a different way.”

Meredith Farm Produce is open Wednesdays to Sundays from 9am to 3.30pm, with the view to eventually expand business hours.