‘You know your competition isn’t really competition if they’re in the food industry,’ said Brookfarm and Northern Rivers Food founder Pam Brook.
After a fantastic ten years operating in the Northern Rivers, the not-for-profit Northern Rivers Food Organisation (NRFO) has decided to wrapup.
‘It went into the red when its Harvest Food month of May was so wet, and usually well-attended events failed to live up to expectation,’ explained Rea Francis who was also a board member of NRFO.
The organisation had been formed to bring people in the local food industry together to share knowledge, contacts, and opportunities.
‘It was exciting, because people realised that this was about getting together, it was about networking, about business and solving our business problems, and being able to talk to other people about business problems without fear of judgment,’ reflected Pam on the founding of NRFO.
All about connection
‘You could just tap someone on the shoulder and have a quiet chat. That was the whole thing. It’s about networking people together really well and then filling in all the education gaps that we didn’t have up here, like things about barcodes, marketing, freight, margins and markup – all the business things that go on in the food industry as well as all the certification, etc.
‘The really exciting thing was when you came to Byron Bay or the Northern Rivers, the food industry was really well connected. Northern Rivers Food really got people connected and saw the benefits of connection.’
The NRFO started with support of government funding but then looked to become self-funding with membership peaking at around 150 members, and running the Harvest Festival. However, the unusually wet weather this May meant that they didn’t get the attendance at events they needed and have made the hard decision to wrap up the organisation.
‘There are a lot of offshoots that have grown from people who are members of Northern Rivers Food,’ said Pam. ‘Savour the Tweed and Sample Food Festival are examples. I think the legacy is still there and the food industry is now well connected.
‘Everyone who’s been part of it has been really proud of what we’ve achieved and they’ve really enjoyed the journey. It’s been a really fun and exciting journey for NRFO. We’ve really made a difference. That’s the key. So while it’s ended it’s not the end of the businesses.
‘Now there’ll be a space and we’ll see what happens. People will identify what’s missing and what we really need. And then we’ll know if it, or something in a different form is ready to fire again.’
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