When floods cut off supply routes to Far North Queensland shelves in the region’s large supermarkets were quickly emptied.
But smaller, independent stores sourcing produce daily from nearby farms were able to keep fresh stock on hand and saw a surge in customers.
Jonssons Farm Market in Stratford reported a 300 per cent increase in customers one day this month — its biggest day in 13 years of business.
David Harris says stocking local produce is a priority. (ABC Far North: Conor Byrne)
“Everything we possibly can obtain is from local suppliers,” manager David Harris said.
“We will still have supply issues of some lines, but we’ll still get fresh produce every day.”
Food from the Atherton Tablelands is usually trucked about 400 kilometres south to Townsville and beyond before being transported back north to local supermarkets.
The supply chain broke when floods damaged the train line and broke the Ed Kratzman Bridge over Ollera Creek, 60km north-west of Townsville on February 2.
Angela Nason had to shut the doors of Tablelands to Tabletop to gather new stock when trade increased. (ABC Far North: Bridget Herrmann)
‘Grown on our doorstep’
Mareeba greengrocer Angela Nason said the big store shortages made a “mockery” of food supply routes.
She supported the establishment of a distribution hub in Cairns.
“Our farmers should be feeding our communities directly,” Ms Nason said.
More than 1,000 customers walked into her small warehouse last week – six times as many as usual – and online orders increased fourfold to 200.
Customers seeking southern produce such as apples, pears, carrots, celery, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower were disappointed.
But bananas, mangoes, pineapples, potatoes, pumpkins, avocados, lemons, limes, grapefruit, papaya, passionfruit and dragon fruit were in ample supply.
“Our food is secure because it’s literally grown on our doorstep,” Ms Nason said.
But she had to shut the doors at noon last Monday to fetch new stock and conceded she would always compete with supermarkets because of their price, opening hours, and range.
Cairns Mayor Amy Eden came to prominence with her involvement in community gardening before she got into politics. (Supplied: Cairns Regional Council)
Scrambling for essentials
Cairns Mayor Amy Eden has asked Coles and Woolworths to build distribution centres in Cairns to avoid a “scramble for basic necessities”, but neither supermarket has committed.
Coles said the centre would need weatherproof road and rail access due to the short shelf-life of chilled and fresh produce.
Coles and Woolworth s said they overstocked the Far North Queensland stores with long-life products in preparation for disaster season, which was not always possible for fresh produce.
Woolworths’ supply route issues were solved by flying produce into Cairns and diverting trucks after the Bruce Highway and railway line were damaged. (ABC Far North: Conor Byrne)
Both supermarkets said processing North Queensland produce through their Townsville distribution centres was the most efficient method of delivery.
A Coles spokesperson said direct delivery was not sustainable for a retailer of its size.
“It would result in reduced quality, more trucks on local roads and, ultimately, higher prices for our customers,” they said.
A Woolworths spokesperson said local suppliers brought special deliveries of fruit, bread, milk and chicken during the floods.
“Fresh products and those in high demand need to be constantly replenished,” they said.
Barb Ford said temporary food shortages during Cyclone Yazi were solved by large plane deliveries. (ABC Far North: Conor Byrne)
Call to ‘bulletproof’ network
Some produce was flown to Cairns Airport by narrow-body aircraft and Regional Trade Distribution Centre managing director Barb Ford said a larger plane could have brought more food.
She believed there was potential to export stranded local produce such as bananas.
“That’s what we did in Cyclone Yasi,” she said.
“But it costs a lot of money and we’re in a different economic climate now.”
Several cargo planes delivered fresh produce at Cairns Airport in the days following the floods. (ABC Far North: Conor Byrne)
This month food has been barged from Townsville to Cairns and transported to Ingham by helicopter.
Wayne Spencer, who has run a distribution centre in Townsville for 35 years, says a distribution centre in Cairns would be overkill, especially outside disaster season.
“For a town of Cairns’s size, it would need to be a sizeable facility,” he said.
“For the other times of the year, I don’t know if it’d be viable.”
Mr Spencer said money should be invested in improving the rail and road network.
“Let’s make it a little bit more bulletproof,” he said.
Irene Portelli audited produce levels in the Cairns area following the floods. (ABC Far North: Conor Byrne)
Food security advocate Irene Portelli said she hoped Far North Queensland customer behaviour would change following the recent shortages.
She said communities should support local food hubs rather than living at the mercy of major supermarket supply chains.
“The amount of jobs that would create … getting more [Tablelands] food down to independent stores and to the markets,” Ms Portelli said.
