Showcasing Moreton Bay’s serious business of producing fresh food
Published 03 May 2022
It sounds like the makings of a dinner you wouldn’t want to miss: gourmet salad, locally-produced beef, goat’s cheese, fresh vegetables and herbs, all washed down with small-batch gin.
Moreton Bay’s display at this year’s ‘Meet the Makers’ event yesterday showcased 11 incredible local food producers and agricultural businesses, helping to put us on the culinary map.
Mayor Peter Flannery said Council’s support enabled the producers to demonstrate the innovation and impressive breadth of produce from across the region - everything from granola clusters to beef jerky.
“Moreton Bay is known as a strawberry growing region, but we have used Meet the Makers to strategically position ourselves as growers, producers, innovators and successful business operators close to Queensland’s major markets,” he said.
“Council’s Regional Economic Development Strategy (REDS) provides a framework to help businesses flourish in Moreton Bay Region and to attract more players and create more opportunities all round.
“Our aim is to double the economy to $40 billion, create 100,000 new jobs and become one of Australia’s leading regional innovation hubs by 2041.”
The businesses that represented Moreton Bay this year were:
- Bask & Co, Ferny Hills
- Blue Dog Farm, Ocean View
- Chilli Coffee, Burpengary
- Copper and Cane Distilling, Whiteside
- Laceys Hill Distilling Co, Laceys Creek
- Lily Rose Indulgence, Dayboro
- Little White Goat Cheese, Wamuran
- Lucy Lockets Golden Milk, Samford
- Mallory's Tocino, Narangba
- The Mini Farm Project, Samford; and
- Woggoon Farm, Samford.
The Mini Farm Project founder Nick Steiner said Meet the Makers was important for fact-finding, connecting with other producers and retailers and shoring up his charity and business arms.
“We had good interest in what we do at Meet the Makers, which is great. We are very appreciative of the Council support for food producers and agricultural businesses,” Mr Steiner said.
“We realise it is vital for charities to rethink how they operate, providing produce to people to buy so that there is financial support for our charitable activities, such as donating to OzHarvest and Meals on Wheels.
“When you buy from us, you support people in need, through our work in addressing food insecurity - and also our new focus on buying farms where there is no succession so that they remain productive.”
Mr Steiner said his Samford and Wamuran farms produced fresh lettuce, radishes, spring onions, mushrooms and snow peas.
Meet the Makers is hosted by the Food and Agribusiness Network and takes place at Sunshine Coast Airport, Visit Council’s website for more information about REDS – https://www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/Services/Business-Investment/REDS