On The Land
15 June, 2025
Local business keeps $2 million in economy
OVER $2 million has been kept in the local economy thanks to the efforts of a local produce wholesaler.
Tablelands to Tabletop founder Angela Nason was recently advised that over the past five years, a whopping $2 million has circulated through her business.
“I’m really happy with what we’ve been able to achieve. When you first start out with something like this, you’re not sure if it’s going to be supported by the community, and I mean, $2 million in five years, that’s our answer,” Ms Nason said.
“That eating local, fresh produce is a needed service, people support us, our farmers absolutely love what we do, our community loves what we do, and of course, we love what we do too.
“The $2 million is basically what we have paid our farmers for fruit and vegetables, as well as our suppliers. So, all the money that we’ve collected from our community who have paid for produce, 100% of that has stayed in our local community.
“That’s a lot of money that has stayed on our doorsteps, and our farmers have gotten a big chunk of that.”
Ms Nason said the aim of her business was to get the local community eating fresh, local produce.
Growing up within the farming industry, she noticed a gap in the market with about a third of farmers’ produce often not leaving the paddock due to being classified as “reject fruit”, even though it may be perfectly fine to eat.
By utilising this, she was able to offer her customers a wide range of second-grade produce, as well as premium-grade, and she also created extra income for local farmers.
“About a third of the produce that’s grown here on the Tablelands will never leave the farms because it’s too small or too big, or the banana doesn’t have enough bend. Surprisingly, a straight banana is now considered a reject fruit and will be discarded.
“So, we buy a lot of that produce. We think it’s criminal that produce is thrown away, especially if it’s edible. There’s literally no physical damage to it, the nutrition is the same, and the taste is the same, which is the most important thing.
“And that has enabled our farmers to have an extra income. Instead of them discarding that produce, we pay them for it. They perhaps can then put more staff on or diversify their crops, there’s lots of options that opens up for them.”
Ms Nason said the most important reason to shop local is to give future generations a chance to live in a thriving community.
“Personally, I want my children to stay here in town, I don’t want them to have to leave because there’s no job opportunities,” she said.
“We’ve seen the impact of not supporting local businesses, with a lot of people online shopping these days.
“Rockmans and Rivers have closed their doors, and we’ve got over 10 vacant shops in our main street right now.
“So, that is the effect of not spending money in our local community. Shops shut down, job opportunities shrink, and our children and our future generations may have to look elsewhere to live and work.
“So, in a nutshell, if money is spent here locally, it will create a thriving community and job opportunities for our young children.”
