Flood, famine and plague

We have had a challenging start to the year, with a flood and power outage causing significant damage and the loss of about $18,000 worth of food at our Don Road, Devonport warehouse and head office.

One of our kitchen staff has also tested positive for COVID-19, although, thankfully all other staff have tested negative.

We returned from the Christmas shutdown on January 4 to find the administration area and part of the warehouse flooded after a hose burst under a sink in the men’s toilets. We have had to replace carpet, furniture and some breakfast food for schools.

The following Sunday, a power outage during a storm led to a coolroom full of food spoiling and the suspension of emergency food deliveries last week to Launceston, Burnie and Ulverstone.
The coolroom was filled with fresh produce, hundreds of ready-to-eat meals and three pallets of eggs when the lights went out. In a freak occurrence, the thermostat reverted to heating when the system reset. The electrician said it was a one-in-a-million occurrence.

Our friends step up

However, we have been greatly encouraged by the support of some of our major food partners who helped replace some of the losses. Pure Foods gave us 12,000 eggs, while Harvest Moon, Premium Fresh and New Life Industries donated a range of fruit and vegetables, allowing us to resume deliveries on the Wednesday.

Special deliveries

We are responding to special emergency calls for help from Zeehan Neighbourhood House and Costa, Devonport.
We are being paid to feed 136 Tongan fruit pickers quarantined due to COVID. Our Devonport kitchen is supplying three meals a day for five days.
We are also making a special run to Zeehan Neighbourhood House with dozens of emergency food hampers and a range of non-perishable items after its regular food provider could not source supplies to meet the urgent need.

By Loaves and Fishes general manager Aaron Kropf