Page 20 - Food&Drink Business Magazine July-August 2020

BAKERY BUSINESS
Responsible wheat for a Good Harvest
The Good Harvest Co. is a new range of flour and pasta products made from 100 per cent responsibly farmed Australian wheat.
THE Good Harvest Co. is an initiative from Rinoldi, a family owned pasta manufacturer and one of Australia’s oldest food producers (established in 1878).
Rinoldi marketing manager Emilie Emond says the responsibly farmed wheat
initiative was a project that had been in the
works for over five years. “It involved the close
collaboration of local farmers and their commitment to adopting a responsible approach to farming. Responsible farming techniques ensure that crops are grown safely to protect the environment, while caring for the social economic conditions of the farmers and the local
community as a whole. “Responsible farming also
means that farmers are actively working to protect species and the ecosystem, with some farms dedicating a portion of their land to regenerating native bushland and caring for native habitats,” Emond says.
Rinoldi acquired the Young flour mill in 2012. Located in country NSW, the mill is Australia’s oldest operating coop mill. It produces The Good Harvest Co. flour.
The Good Harvest Co. pasta is produced in Victoria.
“We wanted to bring Australian consumers closer to farmers with The Good Harvest Co. brand, by allowing all Australians to enjoy quality products crafted from premium Australian wheat, while giving
back and supporting farming communities,” Emond says.
The company is partnering with Rural Aid, with 10 cents from every packet donated to the charity. The funds will support rural community initiatives aimed at supporting farmers and rural communities through natural disasters such as drought, bushfire and floods.
Rural Aid NSW business development manager Craig Marsh says it is pleased to be working with “a family-owned Australian business supporting Australian farmers and local rural communities”.
Emond adds: “Our teams in New South Wales and Victoria are working hard to keep up with the increased demand from Australian supermarkets at such unprecedentedtimes.” ✷
More than bread and butter
Social enterprise bakery The Bread & Butter Project is working with Woolworths to keep its business running during COVID-19 restrictions.
WHOLESALE bakery The Bread & Butter Project uses 100 per cent of its profits to support training and employment opportunities for refugees and asylum seekers in Sydney.
COVID-19 restrictions saw much of its business evaporate, with sales falling by more than 50 per cent in the second half of March as the cafés and workplaces it supplied closed. The project had to find other avenues to sell its products.
Its chair Cindy Carpenter says quick decisions had to be made. “Within two weeks we shifted from being a largely wholesale enterprise to becoming much more consumer-facing via online retailers and supermarkets.”
One component of that was Woolworths coming onboard and stocking its products in 14 of its Metro stores.
Carpenter says Woolworths’ backing was more than welcome. “They’ve worked extremely hard on our behalf to provide us with a good shelf presence, because we aren’t a well-known consumer brand as yet.”
Woolworths Metro GM Justin Nolan says: “It’s a win-win for us – our customers love the baked goods and we’re also doing our bit to help support the important work the project is doing.”
Keeping the bakery open has maintained much-needed income for its trainees.
“By keeping our doors open, we are keeping people employed who may be on Temporary Protection Visas or other visas, and who are not eligible for the government’s JobKeeper support program and would struggle to find alternative work
in the current circumstances,” Carpenter says.
The program gives trainees hands-on training in the company’s Marrickville bakery and a TAFE Certificate II in Food Processing, as well as intensive tutoring in English and numeracy.
Currently, bread and pastry sales fund about 90 per cent of The Bread & Butter Project’s training and operational costs,
with donations funding the remaining 10 per cent.
Volunteers and pro bono assistance also help the company achieve its goals.
All profits go towards training and employment opportunities.
The program has graduated more than 70 professional artisan bakers into employment in Australia’s hospitality industry sinceitbeganin2013. ✷
20 | Food&Drink business | July/August 2020 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au