Bellarine Farmgate
Supporting local food production on the Bellarine.
Bellarine Farmgate has a vision of burgeoning local food production on the Bellarine,
connecting growers with residents keen to purchase fresh, high quality locally grown
produce. Growing and eating locally has many personal, business and environmental
advantages.
Established in 2021, the Bellarine Farmgate is a non-profit organisation now hosted by Vince
Panetta on his farm at 218 Murradoc Road, Drysdale. Around 20 local growers bring their
produce to the market for sale, with volunteers opening the produce market on Saturday 9 to
3 and Sunday 10 to 2.
“More people are aware of food miles, and they want to buy seasonal fruit and vegetables,
so we’ve seen a great increase in customers coming to our weekend market. We’re keen to
connect with people who are growers, or would like to be growers, so that we can further
build this local food economy” said Chris Lean, co-chair of the Bellarine Farmgate.
Bellarine Farmgate also aims to connect local landowners, growers and producers with
enthusiastic growers. We are working with other local associations such as Bellarine
Landcare to run demonstrations and workshops for sustainable farming practices.
Increasing food production on the Bellarine will take time as crops take time to grow and
farmers need time to plan their planting. Farmers also need to know that there are local
consumers who want to purchase their crops.
Anyone wishing to connect with Bellarine Farmgate can contact us on