As Alison, Neel, Eunice, Tiffany, Holly, and Jenny walked into the Gala Dinner, they were full of expectation and hope. It certainly was a night of tension for the Fine Foods Team as the night wore on and other winners have had their chance to shine. They glanced at each other almost resigned to the fact that it wasn’t their night. Doubt and disappointment was on everyone’s mind thinking that the chance was growing thinner by the hour.
The last prize winner was announced and when it wasn’t Flagstaff, disappointment grew but the master of ceremonies announced that the last prize in fact had a second recipient – Flagstaff Fine Foods.
On Friday, 4 June 2021 Flagstaff Fine Foods were in fact one of the winners at the We Do Magic Awards given by the Community Industry Group for community service providers in the Illawarra and Southern NSW who continued to thrive in the face of the pandemic, not to mention bush fires, floods that ravaged the region.
CONGRATULATIONS !!! WELL DONE !!!
From left to right : Holly Charlesworth, Jenny Vaughn, Neel Honavar, Tiffany Churchill, Troy Fitzsimmons, Eunice Garcia and her husband to her right.
The lockdowns and restrictions due to the pandemic were difficult to navigate and had affected a lot of business in that they had to either shut temporarily and let go of staff or go out of business completely.
Services were still required particularly for the vulnerable who were not able to leave their homes. Flagstaff Fine Foods needed more staff that were trained in food handling and Flagstaff Operations Manager Dan Burns contacted Wests Illawarra knowing that they had to let staff go as they could not continue to operate. This collaboration had flow on effects and it enabled Fine Foods to continue to supply customers such as Kiama Meals on Wheels who themselves were extremely short-staffed due to the fact that their volunteers were mostly in the age bracket that were most vulnerable.
Vulnerable people were kept fed through the collaboration of community service providers Flagstaff Fine Foods, Wests Illawarra and Kiama Meals on Wheels.
