Rick Storrier, Zoe Lamont, Ben Hinkelmann and Haley Tait are excited that their vision has come to life. Photo: Erin Hee.
Wagga’s Growers Hub has officially opened its doors, providing an alternative for producers who have been watching prices go up at supermarket chains while they’ve operated at a loss.
Wagga residents can now shop at the ‘farmers’ market’ fresh food co-op opposite the South Wagga Post Office, which is kicking off with a seven-week Summer Festival.
From 6 November to 20 December, it will be open from 1 to 6 pm on Thursdays, 5 to 9 pm on Fridays and 8 am to noon on Saturdays. The Growers Hub will be open six days a week starting in 2026.
Queen & Honey’s Ben Hinkelmann said shopping locally at markets such as Growers Hub, where 100 per cent of profits were returned to the producers, took the pressure off their shoulders as they no longer had to deal with a middleman when trying to sustain their businesses.
“It takes the stress off us, particularly when we deal with the big ones,” he said. “It’s always about price pressure.”
Mr Hinkelmann said aside from supporting their neighbours’ livelihood, buying from a local beekeeper was also making sure local flora and fauna were taken care of.
“Behind the scene, honey is just a by-product. The real product we’re talking of is the pollination of our flora and fauna,” he said.
“Their food hasn’t been tracked around the entire countryside, or in cargo planes to reach Australia – it’s literally produced here.”
While Rewild Water Kefir’s Haley Tait has been lauded as having done “the most work” in getting things up and running, she believes it’s a team effort.
“It’s very much a team effort behind about 10 of us that have volunteered all our time, and we all bring to it different strengths,” she said.
“It has been a lot of work to get here, but this is our home now.”
Before this, Ms Tait was selling her water kefir online or in markets with her sister and co-founder, Lisa Pearce.
She said it felt “a little grown up” knowing that there was a permanent place to display and sell her produce, as she no longer had to worry about the logistics of lugging her produce around different markets.
Ready-made meal producer Farm Door Riverina’s Zoe Lamont is ready to shed tears of happiness and gratitude to the community.
“People have been coming out from all nationalities and different cultures. There was the Italian guy from Pota Pasta, and then there was a Iraqi couple that came in and said, ‘Oh, this makes me so happy’ and gave me a hug,” she said.
“I think people are excited. One lady came with her basket at one o’clock on the dot. She said she’s been clock-watching.”
Mr Hinkelmann said he enjoyed having that interaction with customers now that he was no longer selling his honey through consignment services or to wholesalers.
“I think it’s important to keep your finger on the pulse on what the customer thinks about the product and to improve as well,” he said.
The beekeeper said this was only the start of it: “The idea is now for the next seven weeks, to really get the momentum up and continue to flip this from a market stall into the actual co-op.”
