Victorian families turn to neighbourhood food Hubs as grocery costs bite
Issued by Lanham Media on behalf of Box Divvy
Box Divvy grows to 45 Victorian Hubs and almost 1,400 households in its first year, expanding across Melbourne’s inner and outer suburbs and into regional communities
As grocery costs continue to put pressure on household budgets, Victorian families from Melbourne’s inner and outer suburbs to regional communities are increasingly looking for ways to access affordable fresh food without compromising on quality or their desire to support local growers.
In its first year in Victoria, community food network Box Divvy has sourced fresh produce from around 85 growers, more than 90 per cent of them Victorian. The organisation’s Victorian price comparisons have found fresh fruit and vegetables to be around 35 to 38 per cent cheaper than comparable produce at major supermarkets.
In the small Gippsland town of Lang Lang, local resident Josique Armoogum started a Box Divvy Hub in May after looking for a way to give her family and community better access to quality fresh produce. With just one supermarket in town, Ms Armoogum said the choice and freshness of produce available locally could be limited. Four months later, her Hub has 38 families as members.
“Thirty-eight families don’t have to go out of town to get fresh produce anymore. Lang Lang is a small town with only one local supermarket, so Box Divvy has been life changing for us,” Ms Armoogum said.
“We definitely don’t visit the fruit and vegetable aisles when we do our weekly shopping now. Our members say the fruit and vegetables last longer, and every week we’re discovering new recipes and sharing ideas about what to cook.”
The Hub has also become a meeting point for local families, with members swapping recipes, sharing excess produce from their gardens and children joining their parents on collection day. Ms Armoogum has since encouraged two members to become Hubsters, contributing to a second Hub opening in Lang Lang and another in nearby Poowong.
For Ms Armoogum, who is now in remission after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2022, access to fresh food also has personal significance.
“The last four years have been extremely hard. Now, what is on my plate and what I’m feeding my body is a priority. Ninety per cent of my meals are home cooked and the one thing I won’t trade is fresh produce.”
Box Divvy co-founder Jayne Travers-Drapes said one of the things that stood out when the network launched in Victoria was how conscious Victorians already were about where their food came from, how it was produced and who they were supporting.
“Food co-ops, farmers’ markets and buying direct from producers weren’t new concepts here. What Box Divvy has done is give more people a practical and affordable way to shop according to those values as part of their everyday lives,” Ms Travers-Drapes said.
“People want to support local growers and reduce unnecessary packaging, but they also need to feed their families affordably. The growth we’ve seen over the past year suggests those things don’t have to be mutually exclusive.”
Box Divvy operates through neighbourhood Hubs run by local residents known as Hubsters. Each week, members choose what they want from the available range online, with their individual orders delivered to their local Hub for collection.
The community-based model aims to make quality food more affordable while supporting local growers and suppliers, reducing unnecessary packaging and food waste, and creating connections between neighbours.
Box Divvy’s growing Victorian network is also being used as part of research into whether community-based approaches can help people eat more vegetables. They have partnered with Deakin University’s Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition on the Veg4Me Plus One Serve Study, which will provide vegetable prescriptions to participants and explore whether this can help people increase their vegetable intake.
Associate Professor Katherine Livingstone at Deakin University, said Box Divvy’s community-based model made it a valuable partner for their research.
“Most Australians know vegetables are good for them, but knowing what we should eat and being able to put that into practice are two different things. Cost, convenience and access can all be barriers. The Veg4Me Plus One Serve Study will provide people with a weekly vegetable box, and access to the Veg4Me app, to help them add an extra serve of vegetables to their day.
“We want a practical way for rural and regional communities to access fresh produce through their local community. Box Divvy’s network gives us an opportunity to explore that in a real-world setting, where people are already coming together around fresh food.”
A further 14 Victorian Box Divvy Hubs are currently in development, with four expected to open in the coming weeks. Residents interested in joining a local Box Divvy Hub or learning more about becoming a Hubster can visit www.boxdivvy.com.au.
Find out more about the Hort Innovation-funded Veg4Me Plus One Serve Study at https://ipan.deakin.edu.au/project/veg4me-plus-one-serve-study.
ENDS
Issued by Lanham Media on behalf of Box Divvy
Media Contacts
Fleur Townley | [email protected] | 0405 278 758
Greg Townley | [email protected] | 0414 195 908
Available for interview:
- Jayne Travers-Drapes and Anton van den Berg, Co-founders, Box Divvy
- Associate Professor Katherine Livingstone at Deakin University
- Josique Armoogum, Hubster in Gippsland and Lang Lang.
- Additional Victorian case studies available:
- Elizabeth Sulja, Fraser Rise: Stay-at-home mum Elizabeth started her Hub in May, looking for something that could contribute to her family financially while fitting around caring for and homeschooling her eight-year-old son. Her Hub has grown from 15 to 22 members, and Elizabeth says becoming a Hubster has helped her family put more money into savings while also building new friendships in her local community.
- Kate Trenerry, Rockbank: Mum of two Kate started her Hub shortly after having her second child. Living in a new development where the nearest supermarket is in another suburb, she saw Box Divvy as a way for local families to access quality fresh produce while also getting to know their neighbours. Her Hub has grown to 20 members, with some families walking with their children and prams to collect their weekly orders.
- Other Victorian Hubsters available on request. Find Hubs here: https://app.boxdivvy.com.au/find-hubs
Photos of the case studies here
General Box Divvy media assets here
About Box Divvy
Box Divvy is a free, community-driven food co-op that connects households with fresh, seasonal produce and healthy pantry staples. With 427 local Hubs and over 16,000 members across NSW, VIC, ACT, and QLD, it’s a simple and affordable way to shop - no membership fees, just a regular commitment to order. Each Hub is run by a neighbour, and members collaborate to reduce waste, share deliveries, and keep costs low. By supporting mostly Australian and local suppliers, Box Divvy helps families eat well, live more sustainably, and make food choices they can feel good about. Find out more at boxdivvy.com
About the Veg4Me Plus One Serve Study
The Veg4Me Plus One Serve Study explores how combining the Veg4Me app with a vegetable prescription program could support young adults (aged 18–35) in rural and regional Victoria to eat more vegetables. As part of the broader AUSVEG and Hort Innovation Plus One Serve by 2030 program, this project contributes to a national effort to increase vegetable intake by one serve per person per day by 2030.
Plus One Serve: Digital application to support increased vegetable intake in rural communities (HN24006) is funded through Hort Innovation Frontiers with co-investment from Deakin University, the George Institute, the University of Sydney and contributions from the Australian Government.