Mushroom farm seeks support

MUSHROOM growers and local stock providers, the Ballarat Mushroom Farm is putting the call out for customers to continue buying their goods in a post-COVID environment.

Manager Tanya Lunn said the farmgate shop provided a “safe haven” during the pandemic for people not wanting to go to large supermarkets.

Now with restrictions easing, Ms Lunn said that interest has dwindled for the store, and is urging customers to continue their support.

“We helped save some of the businesses out there, now we’re relying on them to save us,” she said.

“The support was incredible last year during the pandemic, and we really filled a void for people wanting a regular supermarket at that time.

“People have really gone back to their old ways now, and we’ll only be as successful as the amount of customers who can come through the door.

“So, if we can’t get people coming back, that’ll be the end of us.”

The store was founded during the pandemic solely as a way for Ms Lunn and her partner Monique to sell their mushrooms, before expanding to incorporate local and Australian-grown produce.

Over the past two years, the shop has been adding more and more goods, and plans for further growth are being discussed such as a cafe, website, click-and-collect, and building extensions.

Ms Lunn said they are gauging community interest to see whether the business can continue to expand and sustain itself.

“It’s just about getting everyone thinking about whether they want this business model to work and whether they want to support on a regular basis,” she said.

“We’ve got fantastic ideas on where we’d love to take it. But we need to weigh up the amount of time, money and effort that we’re potentially putting into these add-ons.”

The callout has gone out via posts on the business’s Facebook page, which Ms Lunn said has “put it back on them” and caused interest to spark once more.

“The response for that has been amazing. We’ve had so many apologies, so many reasons and excuses about why people haven’t been coming back,” she said.

“I don’t need excuses. I don’t need reasons. I just need people to come out and shop with us again.”

The Ballarat Mushroom Farm is open from 9am to 5pm from Mondays to Fridays, and 10am to 4pm on Saturdays.