Bendigo Foodshare believes in good food for all.
Through our Good Food Markets, we are strengthening community food systems by making healthy, local, regeneratively grown food financially accessible to more people in our community and paying local farmers a fair price for their produce.
We sell organic, seasonal produce grown at our Golden Gums Farm market garden, as well as from other local suppliers. We aim to make our produce affordable, accessible and culturally appropriate.
Our customers include everyone – from full paying customers to low-income families and individuals; from long-term Bendigo locals to newly arrived refugees and migrants.
We operate Good Food Markets at different community sites across Bendigo, including weekly on-site at Bendigo Foodshare; fortnightly through the school term at the Long Gully Neighbourhood Centre; and monthly at the Bendigo Community Farmers Market; as well as ad-hoc at Old Church Growers Market and other local festivals.
Good Food For All Food Subsidy Voucher Program
The financial gap between paying farmers a fair price for their regeneratively grown produce and ensuring access to low-income people is significant.
To explore models to fund this gap, we have been involved in an innovative 6-month pilot food voucher program led by Open Food Network Australia and in partnership with six other community food enterprises across Victoria – The Good Food For All Voucher Program.
At the start of the year, Bendigo Foodshare engaged Long Gully Neighbourhood Centre and Bendigo Community Health Services’ Refugee Settlement Services to distribute 180 vouchers (each valued at $50) to low income and migrant community members in need of food support, to use at one of our Good Food Markets between February and June of this year.
The vouchers are called Gift Cards and provide recipients with a shopping experience at any of the Good Food Markets that is dignified; where both full paying customers and gift card recipients can shop side by side and have the choice to purchase food that suits their needs.
In just 4 months of the pilot project, over $6,000 and 850kg worth of fresh, local, seasonal, healthy and culturally appropriate produce has been purchased through 140 gift card redemptions.
“More and more people are in need of food relief… Without the vouchers they wouldn’t have access to market produce.” Kerry, Long Gully Neighbourhood Centre Coordinator
“Thanks very much for helping my family today! The pressure is immense to make ends meet … rent and everything’s got crazy out of control.” Voucher recipient.
“The voucher was very useful, helped me to buy healthy food for my kids and my family and also help me with financials during that time.” Voucher recipient.
Bendigo Foodshare has committed to continue to operate the Good Food Market at Bendigo Foodshare in 2025/26.