As part of Dietitians Week 2023, Outback Stores and Sunrise Health Service collaborated with the aim of sharing nutrition knowledge and cooking skills with the Beswick community. The result, however, was something much more than that. We travelled out to Beswick community and conducted an education and cooking session with five local women of  different ages who were keen to learn more about health and nutrition.

We all contributed to cooking the chicken noodle stir-fry with nutrition education being part of the dialogue and ongoing conversation. We incorporated practical applications during the cooking session and discussed how to identify healthier products in the store using the Good Tucker App. Fruit and water were also provided and identified as healthier snacks and drinking options. We discussed how different ingredients are healthy and not so healthy, and ways to incorporate healthier cooking ingredients at home. The topics of education included the salt content of foods and sugar-sweetened beverages and healthier alternatives.  We touched on the health implications of too much sugar and salt in their diet.

Outback Stores has expanded its range of services with the signing of community service agreements in the communities of Kunawarritji and Parnngurr, home of the Martu people in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

 

Both have populations of around 100 people and are found in one of the most inaccessible regions of Australia. Due to these factors, the communities had experienced difficulties in ensuring food security, amongst many other challenges.

 

In consultation with the directors of each Aboriginal corporation, as well as the state government, Outback Stores customised a unique management agreement that ensures food security alongside municipal services, while facilitating good governance. With a view to improve social and commercial outcomes, the agreement ensures the smooth delivery of key services to these small populations, while also encouraging local skills development, career growth and ongoing sustainability

Goodooga’s only store had been closed for sixteen years when the COVID-19 pandemic struck the small town in August 2021.

 

The closest grocery store or fuel-pump was a 150-kilometre round trip to Lightening Ridge – a journey made particularly problematic amidst the pandemic’s travel restrictions.

 

To resolve this food security issue, Outback Stores acted quickly to set up a temporary store in the local town hall, stocking basic groceries such as milk, bread, meat, fruit and vegetables.

The tropical monsoon season hitting NT and WA continues, with Nitjpurru Community Store flooded this week (see photo, circled). The entire community of Pigeon Hole has evacuated, with store manager Ragu one of the last to be air-lifted out on Wednesday in a cattle-mustering chopper! Big shout-out to Ragu for helping the community until the very last minute.