Community
25 January, 2024
Interest growing for Drake family
THE Drake family were shocked when their open garden drew around 100 people through their farm gates over the weekend, giving locals a closer look at the home-school project which has grown to become a thriving business.
Boorcan’s Theres and Jamie Drake, who have been dairy farming in the region for more than a decade, have always strongly valued self-sufficiency and agriculture.
It is evident through their approach to the family business, Drakes Fresh Produce, nestled just outside Terang at the top of the winding hill above Mount Emu Creek.
The produce has proven a hit with the community, garnering a large online following and loyal customer base who laud the diverse range of fresh produce and the family-focussed, old fashioned approach the family takes to sustainable agriculture.
The couple run the business with the support of their three children; Tim, 14, Gemma, 13, and Rebecca, 12.
The kids were, in fact, the reason the business grew from the family’s vegetable garden, in what Theres Drake describes as an “out of control home-school project”.
“It grew out of a project with Tim from a home-schooling perspective; he grew some garlic and sold that,” she said.
“We had surplus of pumpkin and potato, and it was suggested by a local honey supplier that we should try bringing it to market.
“So, we did, and it naturally grew from there.”
Mrs Drake said it was not long before people began inquiring if the family could retail in between markets, leading to changes including the family retailing from their property on a Saturday and introducing baked and preserved goods – all of which is straight from patch to plate.
“It got to a point where I realised we should probably take it a bit more serious,” she said.
“But it’s important to me that I’m not the one running it; it’s us as a family.
“We do what we can and could quite easily expand, but we’re choosing not to do so because we want to keep this at a size where we actually enjoy doing what we’re doing.”
Mrs Drake said seeing her kids grow more confident and refine their roles with the business they helped to create, and allowing their personalities to shine through in how they approach their work, was a point of pride.
While their academic studies come first, they have undoubtedly played a large role in helping to make Drakes Fresh Produce what it has become.
“Tim does a lot of the groundwork, and in the lead up to the open day he had it all sorted to have the lawns in such beautiful condition,” Mrs Drake said.
“Gemma has started to take over sales and looks after the barn on Saturdays, and did all the sales on our open day.
“I think it gives her a sense of ‘wow, I’m starting to do this’.
“Rebecca, our youngest, is just a goer. You can use her wherever.
“She loves the baking side of things because around a year ago we decided to see what we could do with baked goods from patch to plate.”
Due to the high level of support from the community Mrs Drake said the family decided to host an open garden for visitors to enjoy a guided tour, fresh baked goods and tea and coffee.
She described feeling “a little shocked” when around 100 people attended throughout the day.
“It just felt like a crazy idea so we didn’t know what to expect, but then more and more people just kept coming along,” she said.
“People seemed inspired to want to start their own veggie garden, and I love passing along knowledge.
“I have run some workshops and will run some more in the future, but I want to help teach people and empower them to grow their own food and preserve what they can.
“The response is great and I think part of it is people knowing it’s travelled from the garden, in to the kitchen and on to their table; I’ve been a little protective of keeping it off the shelves because when people get it here, they know it’s all been grown here.”
The Drake family is planning to host another open day on Sunday, February 18 from 10am-4pm, located at 6209 Princes Highway.
“This is about being here, and having the community come together to celebrate the support they have given us,” she said.
“It’ll be interesting to see the response but if the hunger is there and people are interested I could see us doing it once a month.
“It’s a good way for people to come together, even if only 10 people come out once a month to have a place to be, it’s all worth it.”
For more information visit www.drakesfreshproduce.com.