A vital source of food and connection at Waverley will be shutting up shop, but its founders hope it is not the end.
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After 19 months, GroWaverley founder Danielle Watkins has made the difficult decision to step away from the co-op, with an end date of November 5.
Set up in front of the Watkins' house, the co-op has an ethos of "take what you need, share what you can", and has grown to become vital for food security in Waverley.
Waverley is one of Launceston's poorest locations, and a lack of infrastructure, public transport and shops in the suburb means many residents are unable to access fresh food or essential services.
"We normally see 60 to 80 people a day, we're going through 2000 kilograms a week in produce," Ms Watkins said.
"We gave out 80 Christmas hampers last year.
"We know a lot of families who have become homeless lately or are on the verge of homelessness, that we've been supporting because they didn't know where else to turn."
"There's just no services here and people don't know where to go to for help."
In addition to produce, a seed library and burgeoning community garden have joined the co-op in addition to a street library and CDs and DVDs for people to borrow.
Ms Watkins said GroWaverley began with a "little, red crate of onions", but has since grown to beyond what she and the other volunteers can successfully manage.
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After clocking up an estimated 65,000 hours of volunteer work for the co-op, she said she had "burnt out" and hoped a service provider would step in to help members of the community run the project.
"We've got to the point where life has thrown us some curveballs, so we're at the point where we need to move on," Ms Watkins said.
"It hasn't been an easy decision, I'm very sad but it needs to evolve, it needs to grow."
Despite community interest in finding a new home for the co-op, the number of rental properties in the area was proving to be a roadblock.
"We've had a lot of community interest, but they're all rental properties and you can't really attach it to a property you're renting."
GroWaverley supporter Bass Liberal MHR Bridget Archer said Danielle and her husband Nathan had done "incredible" work with the co-op.
"They have done an incredible job of providing the community with much-needed assistance, filling the gaps of services that are absent in the area," Ms Archer said.
"Importantly, Danielle and the GroWaverley team have done a wonderful job of growing the capacity of the community and I hope there may be others who will carry on their work."
Despite her sadness at the closure of the co-op, Ms Watkins said the shift in the Waverley community would endure, with many residents feeling thankful to be linked back in with their neighbours.
"The change in the community has just been astronomical, we all know each other's names, it's safe to walk around on the street, the kids have become friends and are riding their bikes up and down," Ms Watkins said.
"When I first moved here, I was shocked at how quiet it was, everybody stayed inside and no one knew their neighbours.
"Now people will stop and have a chat on the sidewalk."
If you own a property in Waverley that can house the GroWaverley co-op, contact Danielle through the GroWaverley Facebook page.
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