Where do our profits go?

 

Nethercote Produce Market was the brainchild of ‘Nethercotians’ Karen Lott and Barbara Greenwood, who established it in 2009. Since then the market has contributed thousands of dollars to food garden projects around the Bega Valley.

​

The ethos behind it was simple: let’s provide an opportunity to share and buy locally grown, seasonal produce, with no/low food miles and minimal waste - just healthy, delicious tasting, fresh food. 

 

Initially any profits went towards improving future markets (for example, we bought a portable microphone for the cooking demonstrator so they didn’t lose their voice), purchased seedlings which we gave away to local residents at a gardener’s question and answer night, to encourage them to grow for their own use – and some mature excess veg was sold at later markets.
 
That led us to develop our growers program from which we provided funding to gardeners to plant out a garden bed specifically to produce for future markets.  We promised to buy the crop off them too!  Should the crop fail, we understood. It was all on “good faith” and to encourage people to “have a go” at growing.

​

In February 2016, the market became incorporated  to spread the load, enable us to further fund raise, and to be able to apply for grants.

​

Every market now dedicates a large portion of the profits to support a different food-growing-related cause, from funding plants and garden bed materials for school and community gardens to assisting drought-affected farmers.