Local food directory

A&G's biscuits and cannoli are freshly made on a weekly basis. They sell more than 20 differently flavoured biscuits of all sizes.

This garden is membership-based but membership is free.

What: Darebin Council collaborated with members of the Northcote Library Food Garden and the local communuity to develop this visible and accessible urban food demonstration site. The All Nation Kitchen Garden design incorporates permaculture principles and is based on a multi-layered garden of fruit trees, edible understory and ground cover.

Who: A group of local residents care for and manage the site in partnership with Council. The goal is to sustainably produce local food and to provide opportunities for education and community building.

When: Community gardening days are held on the first Saturday of each month, from 10am.

Certified Organic, award-winning, handmade gourmet foods that not only taste great but are also good for you. Horseradish vinegar, mustards, jams, chutneys, sauces and a range of four Panforte di Australia (quince, sambucca, ginger, siena). BIO-GRAPE range of delicious fruit pastes to serve with cheese, red wine, and chilli sauce. They are a family business, with only family members working in the business, who have been hand making certified organic and functional foods for over 25 years under their AUSTRALIAN HARVEST ORGANICS and BIO-GRAPE Brands.

Backyard Honey's raw, local, multi-floral and varietal honey is hand-harvested, unheated, cold extracted and permeated with local pollens. It retains all the beneficial nutritional and medicinal properties often lost in pasteurised commercial honey. Each harvest's colour, smell and consistency may be a little different as the foraging of bees is neither within the apiarist's control nor inclination. Some harvests may crystallise, which simply means that the bees have gathered pollens more likely to turn the honey solid. If you prefer a liquid honey, gently warm the crystallised honey on a sunny windowsill or in a warm bowl of water, remembering that temperatures higher than 40°C will reduce the honey's therapeutic properties.

The Backyard Honey ethos is simply to provide an effective and efficient service to ensure sustainable, healthy and mindful communities.

Backyard Honey beekeepers are qualified to provide apiary incursions to complement education programmes and have worked with many schools and Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden programmes. Their bee incursions are tailored to complement and/or extend the curriculum and include a fully enclosed perspex beehive, apiary equipment, bee suits, wax and propolis and pure, raw, unheated honey tastings. Backyard Honey incursions provide a catalyst for enquiry-based learning across the curriculum for both young and old. Phone them to discover more.

Read an interview with erstwhile owner Peter Dyer.

Their honey is unheated and is without added rice or corn syrup. Seasonal varieties may include Grey Box, Messmate, Yellow Box, Red Gum and Manna Gum. The honey comes from hives which are migrated from Eltham and around the Green Belt, Yarra Valley to central Victoria, plus honey from rescued hives across Melbourne.

They also offer creamed honey, honeycomb, and a highly sought after local honey remedy for hay fever, sinus and pollen related asthma (see testimonials). Plus chai tea and bees wax candles.

Finally, as Bee Rescue, they also rescue bees across Melbourne from pest controllers.

Ben's Bees sell raw honey - honey that has not been treated in any way. It is taken from the hive in frames designed to hold honey, spun with centrifugal force, drained through a fine sieve to remove any wax particles, and bottled.

They also sell candles, beeswax, soap, hives, bees and clothing.

Their services include bee & swarm removal, beehive pollination and European wasp removal.

Billy van Creamy's ice cream is made with a simple philosophy. It is based on the idea of home style cooking. The creaminess doesn't come from any secret ingredients, synthetic stabilisers or emulsifiers, or in fact anything that you wouldn't find in a regular pantry at home; rather, it simply comes from balanced recipes made with organic milk, fresh cream, raw sugar and free range egg yolks. They make everything from scratch using real, whole ingredients. This means roasting and grinding organic nuts, making honeycomb, jams, coulis, caramels in their own kitchen. Their aim is to bring people the childhood joy of eating ice cream but with some adult sophistication in flavours that aren't based on the body's reaction to sugar, rather the perfect balance of flavour and texture.

Billy van Creamy are committed to reducing their impact on the environment, which is why they use as much recycled or recyclable packaging as they can. They support organic and ethical farming to reduce the impact that their supply chain has on the environment. They also support the local art and culture scene, which is where the art in their shop comes from.

Cheeses and yoghurts are made by hand following traditional family recipes, which have been continually improved over the years. No chemicals, no preservatives, non-animal rennet are used, and the cheeses are suitable for vegetarians. Cow's milk produce: natural yoghurts and kefirs/probiotics, quark-soft cheese, bries and blues, hard cheeses/vintages - cheddar (tasty), romano, gruyere, tasty gouda, fettas. Goat's milk produce: kefir, chevre, marinated fetta, haloumy, tasty cheese (caprino), chevre with dill.

Bolton Street Deli & Liquor provides a full range of groceries, from condiments and bread, through beverages and honey, to chocolate and wine. They also sell a wide range of cheeses, meats, dips and homemade produce in their deli section. Gluten-free and organic products are available.

They are THE major stockist of local food products in North East Melbourne, with products from around 20 local producers.

They also serve coffee, breakfast, snacks and lunch from 7am daily (8am on Sundays). Some examples of food options include soup, pasta dishes and moussaka.

Organised by Whitehorse Urban Harvest.

Bulleen Art & Garden (BAAG) is a nursery which specialises in edible, indigenous and low water use plants. As such, it has a large range of herbs, fruit trees and veggie seedlings. All of its seedlings are either Certified Organic or grown using Low Environmental Impact Practices.

BAAG hosts a monthly veggie swap on the 3rd Saturday of the month. It also runs regular sustainable living and gardening classes.

BAAG's landscape supplies yard specialises in soil mixes and mulches. It also has an art gallery, called the Bolin Bolin gallery.

BAAG is located along side the Yarra River. It is committed to helping to improve the local parks and has been actively revegetating the site in collaboration with Parks Victoria and the Friends of the Yarra Valley Parks for many years.

This garden is allotment-based.

What: The garden is located within the Bundoora Park Farm. Within the farm, there is a fruit orchard including an urban farm with chooks and bees. The farm also supplies tools, water and manure.

Who: There are garden plots available for rent to the general public. Annual fees are $79 for a raised plot and $105 for a standard plot. There is a waiting list for these plots.

Caffe Strada makes a wide range of gluten free bread, which is available from both its own shop in Ivanhoe and a variety of other outlets in nearby suburbs.

Caffe Strada is also a cafe which focuses on producing healthy, flavoursome gluten-free food. The cafe is a 100% gluten-free environment and they bake all of their products. Their homemade sausage rolls are fructose-free.