Kiama volunteers celebrate 25 years delivering fine food from Flagstaff

For 25 years, Kiama Meals on Wheels volunteers have been delivering meals made by the Flagstaff Group.

This week it was their turn to sit down for a meal prepared by Flagstaff.

Flagstaff Group CEO Rodney Von Clark said the lunch was an opportunity to celebrate the long-standing relationship between the two community organisations.

“We don’t see ourselves at Flagstaff as just a commercial vendor, we actually pride ourselves in being a preferred partner,” he said.

“We do a lot of work with Kiama Meals on Wheels, as in looking at opportunities where we can provide dietary improvements with our meals.

“They’re one of the first people that we talk to to get that feedback and to make sure that their recipients are happy.”

Flagstaff acquired Monika’s Kreative Kitchen catering business in 1990 and changed the name to Flagstaff Fine Foods.

In 2006 it moved into a purpose-built facility in Nolan Street, Unanderra, complete with four walk-in freezers, a temperature-controlled production room, cool room and blast freezer.

One of five Flagstaff enterprises, Fine Foods produces 12,000 meals a week, or about 600,000 a year.

Kiama Meals on Wheels is just one arm of the NSW service that distributes the Fine Foods meals.

“We provide our services to the majority of Meals on Wheels in NSW, as far north as Tweed Heads,” Rodney said.

“We’ve got 35 employees who live with a disability, who are supported under the NDIS, in our Fine Foods production as well as in our administration team.

“We’ve actually got a vacancy for 10 employees right now, really. So if someone’s on the NDIS and employment is a goal, we can give them an opportunity straight away.”

Kiama Meals on Wheels Manager Joanne North said the partnership with Flagstaff worked both ways.

“Our clients get supported with really good, healthy, nutritional meals and we also know that we’re supporting the businesses here and supporting employment,” she said.

“So today we thought it was a really good opportunity for both community organisations to demonstrate that partnership, how well it’s worked and to celebrate it.”

Joanne said the service’s 170 clients received more than a delivery of healthy, nutritious meals from volunteers.

“The volunteers have a chat to the person and we do a welfare check to make sure that everything’s OK and if there’s anything extra that they need. That’s why our slogan, More than just a Meal, is added to the logo,” she said.

The service has 60 volunteers working in admin, deliveries and packing meals.

For more than a decade the service has worked closely with University of Wollongong dietetics and nutrition staff and students to ensure all meals meet the national nutrition guidelines for older people.

Flagstaff Fine Foods are available to the whole community and Rodney can vouch first-hand for the meals. If he works late and doesn’t want to visit a drive-through for a meal on the way home, he’ll choose one of the dozens prepared by Fine Foods.

“It also takes away the guilt of not cooking at home, so if people want to take the opportunity to support a local not-for-profit organisation, they can come and buy our meals, knowing they’ll get a healthy option and support the employment of people with disability.

“Our meals tick all the boxes.”