Please note: this is an old article
It was published in July 2013, so the information may be out-of-date.
With an industry on the brink of collapsing a term “Never Give Up” is often thrown around but when a group of retrenched Girgarre Heinz workers grouped together to start a Food Co Operative they were not aware of the challenge they had signed on.
In May 2011 the workers of Gigare Heinz were called into a meeting with management and told that the plant would close down in 6 months which sent a shockwave throughout the small community. An idea emerged, what if the workers, farmers and community bought the factory from Heniz and kept it going as a community Co Operative?
The idea slowly built momentum and the Co Operative made an offer to Heniz for the factory of $750,000 which was rejected and then the Bankisa Financial group collapsed which impacted many of the local members and future plans. However a new idea emerged of making a product that was composed of Australian ingredients.
This idea was eventually developed into a pasta and sauce product .It was officially launched on July 18. This action should be seen as a beacon of hope for the community and the members of this Co Operative must be recognised for their dedication and hard work to get this venture off the ground when the odds were against them.
Please visit the Co Operative website