Can you help save Flame Tree Co-op?
Flame Tree Co-op has reached a crossroads and urgently needs community support to survive. Flame Tree Thirroul has been part of my life since I arrived in the Illawarra, knowing no-one, ten years ago. As a foodie/environmentalist I first found it as...
Flame Tree Co-op has reached a crossroads and urgently needs community support to survive.
Flame Tree in Thirroul has been part of my life since I arrived in the Illawarra, knowing no one, 10 years ago. As a foodie/environmentalist, I first found it as a place to shop, then to volunteer and finally, until last year, as a staff member.
A new job brought me to Wollongong in 2013 from the Blue Mountains (via Sydney for two years). Living in Wentworth Falls, I was well-acquainted with retail food co-operatives through Katoomba's Blue Mountains Co-op, established in 1981.
I didn’t last in the new Wollongong job, but Flame Tree remains part of my life. I volunteer in the shop once a week. As a southerner (Balgownie), for time and fuel efficiency, my weekly shop and my volunteer shift coincide.
What do I love about Flame Tree? First and foremost it’s the people, including staff, volunteers, customers and suppliers. I get to talk to interesting people about food, to learn from others and share my knowledge. Since I began my association with Flame Tree, I am much more conscious about what I buy, where it’s from, how it’s handled and who profits from its sale. I love that we are almost plastic free and that I can buy as much or as little as I need in my own bags and containers.
Our shop (it’s member-owned, though membership is not compulsory for our customers) is a non-profit grocery store – old-fashioned, perhaps in the way your grandparents shopped – with a great range of wholefoods such as rice, flour, lentils, tea, nuts, seeds and spices as well as dairy and fresh produce. Much of the range is from local growers and suppliers (Illawarra, South Coast, regional NSW and East Coast Australia).
Drought, bushfires, Covid and floods have all proved challenging since the shop moved into a larger premises in February 2018. Flame Tree rides the waves of seasonality and availability, affected by weather, supply chain and cost of living related issues. Our tenuous connections to our food supplies have never been more apparent.
A community organisation such as ours requires a large team of committed individuals working together for a common purpose – to provide a place where purchases and actions make the world a better place.
Flame Tree’s new manager, Dean Mastroianni, his small team of paid staff and the volunteer base, including the board, are well placed to help Flame Tree survive through these challenges, but it can’t survive without customers and volunteers. Vote with your feet and money for an alternative to the major supermarkets who are about profit over planet. It takes a little longer to shop at Flame Tree, but the benefits to our community and more broadly are worth it. And consider volunteering if you have some time and expertise.
A plan has been hatched to raise money for some crucial works, including air-conditioning, shop frontage, technology upgrades for the point of sale and member communications, for community building and marketing, as well as bolstering our savings buffer. Our aim is to reach $50,000 within one month.
