Co-operative group establishes produce delivery in South West

“I’m overwhelmed by the reception we have had, in our first week delivering to Margaret River and Cowaramup we are already very busy,” Mr D’Opera told the Mail. 

The Busselton man spent time as a chef in Sydney before heading to WA, where he noticed a need for reliable supply of good quality, locally sourced produce.

The Geo Community Co-Op was established by Mr D’Opera and was originally intended as a small community of neighbours joining forces to buy in larger volumes, but exploded in popularity. 

“Buying direct from wholesalers as part of the co-op means value for money, quality control and consistency throughout the seasons,” he said.

In just over two months the Facebook community has grown to over 1,300 members and Mr D’Opera said he already has around 40 customers from the Margaret River area.

Customers can choose from two delivery boxes containing a selection of fruits, vegetables and free range eggs. Mr D’Opera said the service allowed people to enjoy an ever-changing variety of produce sourced as close to the region as possible, with orders able to be slightly amended to remove items customers do not enjoy.

“I can’t always promise everything will come from local farms, but we start as close to home as we can, and then we try to stay within WA, and so on.

“Sometimes I get a few items from interstate to mix it up, but mostly we are focused on staying local.”

Mr D’Opera said he was keen to establish relationships with producers who wish to include their stock in the program.

"I’m always looking for new growers, particularly local; In some cases I’m buying produce which has travelled up to Perth only to be brought back down here, so it makes sense to try and buy it before it leaves the area.”

For more info or to find out more about supplying to the group search Geo Community Co-Op on Facebook.