Stall owner Judy Anderson is trying to stay positive after thieves made off with hundreds of By Melissa Donchi
THIEVES have targeted a roadside vegie stall in Yarra Glen and made off with hundreds of dollars worth of biodynamic produce.
Owner Judy Anderson was jogging with her dogs at the time and was dismayed to find her stall had been fleeced of its goods.
“Everything was gone,” Ms Anderson said. “Every vegie imaginable including the boxes I keep them in and even the iceblocks I use to keep the vegies cool – all gone.”
Considerably out of pocket, Ms Anderson said she is trying to stay positive about the theft.
“At least they’re healthy thieves, that’s something to laugh about,” she said.
Ms Anderson relies on the honesty of her customers to make a living from her homegrown biodynamic vegies, leaving a money box and note book for people to fill out and pay for whatever they choose to buy from her stall which is mostly unattended.
A small camera also operates to discourage thieves but this was spraypainted black keeping the thieves’ identity a secret.
Ms Anderson believes the thieves know who she is and were prepared to front the camera.
“You can’t break the camera glass and they must have known this, which is why they came, equipped with spray paint,” she said.
While Ms Anderson is understandably disappointed she says she won’t change the way she operates.
“I love providing fresh food for people and most of the time it works really well,” she said.
“When I am out there people pull up and chat and it’s wonderful.”
