Local food and drink directory

 
Darebin Information, Volunteer & Resource Service
Township/suburb:
Preston
Municipality:
Darebin
Notes (in their own words):

Darebin Information, Volunteer & Resource Service (DIVRS) is a community organisation that connects people in Darebin to opportunity, community and support. DIVRS’s services, programs and information are free. For around 50 years, DIVRS has helped people experiencing personal and financial issues with information, referrals, support, advocacy, financial & bill help and material aid, including food.

DIVRS’s Urban Food Program promotes a vision of local food systems that are secure, sustainable and fair. Volunteers in the program grow and harvest fresh food in gardens and backyards across Darebin to be shared with people in the community experiencing food insecurity. On average, DIVRS supports 150 to 200 Darebin households each week.

The Darebin Fruit Squad is a community fruit harvesting project, also part of the Urban Food Program. A group of trained volunteers harvest excess fruit from registered households in and around Darebin. This fruit is then shared with people in the community experiencing food insecurity.

You can get involved by: donating fresh fruit; becoming a Fruit Squad household or picker; or volunteering in one of their community resource gardens to grow fresh vegetables and herbs to share.

Dark Horse Cafe, Wine & Produce
Category:
Local brands sold:
Coldstream Brewery
House of Gingerbread
Napoleone Brewery & Ciderhouse
Warrandyte Berry Farm
Township/suburb:
Watsons Creek
Municipality:
Nillumbik
Notes (in their own words):

The Dark Horse Café, Wine & Produce is in Watsons Creek, on the road from Eltham to Yarra Glen. It overlooks two acres of landscaped gardens, along with an ornamental lake, and is surrounded by a natural bushland setting. Its cafe and store are open Wednesday to Sunday.

The store sells a variety of local produce, from baked goods and condiments to wines and ciders.

The cafe sells all day breakfast, brunch, lunch and afternoon tea. It is fully licenced. Read the menu.

Diamond Blue Catering
Category:
Products:
Full service catering
Township/suburb:
Mount Evelyn
Municipality:
Yarra Ranges
Notes (in their own words):

Diamond Blue Catering are a catering service which operates throughout Melbourne. Their catering options range from gourmet finger foods to spit roasts and gourmet BBQs, with many more in between. Their services include event catering, dinner party catering, finger food catering, party function catering and wedding catering The owner, Todd Graham, established the company in 2006, having previously worked as a chef.

Diamond Creek Community Pantry
Township/suburb:
Diamond Creek
Municipality:
Nillumbik
Notes (in their own words):

This is one of 9 community pantries around Banyule and Nillumbik. These pantries contain non-perishable food which is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, require no appointments and are open to whoever needs food. Their philosophy is give what you can, take what you need, with people able to donate to the pantry as well.

Diamond Creek Food Swap (Thrive)
Category:
When:
3rd Saturday of the month, 2-3pm
Township/suburb:
Diamond Creek
Municipality:
Nillumbik
Notes (in their own words):

There is a community garden at the location.

Diamond Creek, Planter Boxes in Chute Street
Township/suburb:
Diamond Creek
Municipality:
Nillumbik
Notes (in their own words):

The produce from these planter boxes is freely available to any members of public who pass by.

There are 7 planter boxes in Chute Street (5 on the north side of the road and 2 on the south side) plus a further 2 around the corner in Inglis Street. Each of these is a wicking bed. They were established in 2014.

Diamond Valley FoodShare
Township/suburb:
Greensborough
Municipality:
Banyule
Notes (in their own words):

Every Monday to Friday between 1pm and 3pm, Diamond Valley FoodShare provides free food to Banyule residents in need of emergency assistance. Around 50,000 meals are given out each year, and around 400 individuals receive meals in any given month.

People are referred to the FoodShare after visiting either Diamond Valley Community Information Centre in Greensborough Plaza or Banyule Support & Information Centre (BANSIC) at The Mall, Heidelberg West. Recipients receive parcels containing enough food for three to four day periods. The food parcels can be accessed twice each month.

Most of the food comes from the two major Melbourne-wide food relief organisations, namely Foodbank and SecondBite. FoodShare’s volunteers visit Foodbank every fortnight and pick up around 200Kg of fruit and veggies plus some pastries and refrigerated goods. They visit SecondBite every week and pick up around 80Kg of fruit and veggies.

They also collect donations from a variety of local sources with the collection points including five local Woolworths supermarkets, Foodworks Ivanhoe and Diamond Village and Diamond Creek IGA supermarkets. Spoilable foods are collected in a refrigerated van which was purchased with the aid of a cash donation from Watsonia RSL.

Read an interview from April 2018.

Doncaster Community Gardens
Township/suburb:
Doncaster
Municipality:
Manningham
Notes (in their own words):

This garden is allotment-based. It is currently full and with a waiting list.

Access to the gardens is via a rough private road which runs downwards through the car park between the Kevin Heinze GROW Centre and its commercial nursery.

Doncaster Community Gardens occupies a large tract of Ausnet Services land near power lines at the back of the Kevin Heinze GROW Centre. The land is leased by Manningham Council and it’s huge, comprising 2½ acres of land divided into many rows of connected plots. There are around 140 plots in total, most of which are 10 metres by 4 metres.

Each gardener pays annually per plot, they have access to town water, wheelbarrows, hoses and lawn mowers. It is the plot owner’s responsibility to keep the paths that border their plot maintained and failure to do so can result in the loss of the plot.

In March 2020, Judy Vizzari visited the garden. Read her writeup of the visit.

Doncaster Hill Community Garden
Township/suburb:
Doncaster
Municipality:
Manningham
Notes (in their own words):

This garden is open to the public.

Set amongst the high rise of Doncaster Hill, this garden is an 'open backyard' where volunteers learn, play and appreciate growing local food. The emphasis is on collective fun, enjoying the space and coming together as a local community. Participants are rewarded with seed collections, skills workshops and food programs. There are no private plots. Most of the food grown is donated to local food banks and charities.

Regular working bees and skill development programs are run by Felicity Gordon. Join the Facebook group for dates and times.

Doreen Egg Farm
Category:
Products:
Free range eggs and Hyline Brown chickens
Local outlets:
Own shop - Monday to Thursday, 10am-4pm; Friday to Sunday, 8am-6pm
Local Fine Foods, Diamond Creek
Local brands sold:
Township/suburb:
Doreen
Municipality:
Whittlesea
Notes (in their own words):

Doreen Egg Farm sell a range of free range and farm fresh eggs to the local community from their shop premises in Doreen. Eggs are available in packs of 12 or 25.

Live Hyline Brown chickens are often available for sale for locals who would like to set up a chicken coop.

Doron Talmi Sweet-eez
Products:
Mandarins and oranges
Notes (in their own words):

Doron Talmi Sweet-eez is a 50 acre citrus farm which grows mandarins (including satsuma & imperial) and oranges (including blood, yellow, sweet-eez & summer gold). All products are sold at the farmers' markets around Melbourne from April to October.

Dougharty Baker
Products:
Organic sourdough bread
Local outlets:
Township/suburb:
Heidelberg Heights
Municipality:
Banyule
Notes (in their own words):

Dougharty Baker's bread is ordered online and then delivered to the following suburbs: Bellfield, Heidelberg, Heidelberg Heights, Heidelberg West, Ivanhoe, Kingsbury, Macleod, Rosanna and Viewbank. There are also pickup points in Clifton Hill, Heidelberg Heights and Ivanhoe. Baking to order means that there is less waste.

Their breads include fruit loaf, rye, spelt/khorasan blend, multigrain, white, wholemeal and wholemeal spelt plus they also make buns and crackers. They are all slow-fermented and made from Certified Organic ingredients. They are real sourdough, made with just flour, water and salt. No commercial yeasts or bread additives are used.

Dynamic Vegies
Certified Organic
Local brands sold:
Seasonal, certified organic produce
Township/suburb:
Eltham
Municipality:
Nillumbik
Notes (in their own words):

Certified Organic and Biodynamic fresh produce. Seasonal local organic produce such as Research raspberries, Wandin Valley blueberries, Coldstream lemons, Panton Hill garlic and Healesville free range eggs. Groceries, coffees and much more.

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