A GEELONG man has created an online resource which will allow Ocean Grove and Bellarine shoppers to help local farmers battle discounted supermarket milk.
Patrick O’Callaghan created The Milk List, which identifies outlets which sell the products of local dairy farmers.
Mr O’Callaghan added the resource to localfoodloop.com, to help dairies struggling with cuts to farm gate prices – already competing against supermarket-brand milk as cheap as $1 a litre.
Public uproar has led consumers to seek out independent products but supermarkets have responded, packing fridges with their own discounted products.
The dominance of supermarket-brand milk in local stores has angered consumers who have expressed their outrage with images and comments on social media.
But Mr O’Callaghan’s list has grown to hundreds of products, identifying where they are available and including a ‘crowd consensus’ field for consumers to rate each product.
The list allows visitors to add their own “local milk knowledge” including the brand and outlets where it is sold.
Some of the listed brands include Sungold, Moriac Farmstead Dairy, Aussie Farmers Direct and Schulz Organic Farms.
The list has gone national but contains numerous sites around the Bellarine where consumers can buy independent-brand milk.
Mr O’Callaghan said his list was all about helping to save Australian farming jobs.
“We put together the Milk List as an opportunity for people to find those places and if they want to spend their money in a better way this allowed them to do that,” he told ABC radio.
“Because they’re the things … that keep regional communities alive.”
