From farm gate to fridge: How Farm Door Riverina used its $180,000 NSW government grant

A Wagga Wagga-based business that has sold three million locally made meals since 2016 has used a $180,000 grant from the NSW government to accelerate its plans to take Riverina produce from farm gate to fridge in national supermarkets, boutique grocers and pharmacies to the next level.

Farm Door Riverina was founded by entrepreneurs Frank Coorey and Zoe Lamont after the couple moved from Sydney to Wagga Wagga in 2016 and bought a small established frozen meal company — eventually changing the business name from My Chef to Farm Door Riverina during its rebrand in early 2024.

From manufacturing around 600 frozen meals a day for the aged care sector, Meals on Wheels and local hospitals when they first began, the company now manufactures more than 50,000 ready meals per month, offers a delivery service, and has grown from a team of three in a small shop front in Wagga Wagga to a team of 30.

Farm Door Riverina received a $180,000 NSW Government grant through the Regional Job Creation Fund, with staged funding received in September 2022 and August 2023, and the expansion creating the equivalent of nine additional full-time jobs.

With the grant and matched funds, the business was able...