THE PLAN originally was to move to Raglan, get into permaculture and start to see produce in the region.
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Only, Steph Staib felt there was a bit of a "food drought" in terms of a shop bringing together the best the region had to offer, unless you travelled into Ballarat.
Bloomin' Fresh in Beaufort is more than a greengrocer for Ms Staib, who has created a "big-little" shop for people to call past for groceries, gifts and spiritual and community needs.
Basically, Ms Staib said, it was stocking everything she loved.
The result is tapping into a demand that stretches to Ararat, where residents are prepared to travel to Beaufort for the choice in produce.
"I bought the shop from a woman who had been doing it for awhile and was interested in local produce," Ms Staib said. "...When we lived in Ballarat we shopped at Ballarat Wholefoods Collective and they helped give us a good grounding in what is possible.
"One of the challenges in being regional is most Goldfields products are from Castlemaine and Daylesford and we wanted to show what was from west of Ballarat.
"We use Ballarat markets a lot and connect wherever we can. So far, feedback has been really crazy with people telling us 'we really needed this'. It's been overwhelmingly encouraging."
Bloomin' Fresh has been recognised with an Australia Post community business hero award to help grow her business.
As well as fresh produce, including sourdough from Ballarat's 1816 Bakehouse, the tiny Lawrence Street space is filled with home-makers favourites for crocheting or making soap.
Big freezers inside stock quality meat from grass-fed animals from farms in Raglan and Burrumbeet.
There is also space to appeal to those seeking spiritual goods, such as tarot cards.
Produce baskets spill on to the pavement, partly due to space, but this also helps to lure people inside.
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Ms Staib has been gradually getting to know more farmers in the region but she has also enjoyed meeting more from the wider community. Many, she has found, have appreciated finding and trading what they need a little closer to home.
Ms Staib said too often people living regionally had to travel but they deserved better access to quality good from across the region.
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