By Mark Fetterplace

On a blustery but beautiful summer’s day, the Flame Tree Food Co-op had a morning tea get-together of their wonderful volunteers on the grass behind the Thirroul Surf Lifesaving Club. There was a fantastic community spirit among the volunteers, some of whom travel from far-flung parts of the Illawarra to volunteer and shop at the Co-op.

Denise Farrier, a Co-op member since 2010, ran a Crop Swap at the gathering. People brought along their excess produce, seeds, seedlings, flowers, some home-made goodies such as pickles, relishes, jams, preserved lemons. They could swap for something that they would like. It was very gratifying to see the enthusiasm for organic gardening, sharing knowledge, preventing food waste and eliminating the use of packaging.

The Co-op is member-owned and not-for-profit co-operative with a focus on sustainable, local, ethical and low packaged food. It was launched by a small group of volunteers in February 2010. For the first few years, it was entirely volunteer-run and to this day volunteers play a very important role both in the shop and behind the scenes.

We volunteers feel very grateful to be a part of this community and we would love for more people to join us. Pop into the Co-op in Thirroul and have a chat!

Visit 355 Lawrence Hargrave Drive, Thirroul or follow @flametreecoop on social media