Benalla Food Cooperative - Sonia Bourke

Ecological Sustainable Design and Development - Howard Bartlett and Peter Maddock

Greening and Cooling Benalla - Judy Schwartzman

Renewable Energy Benalla - Kevin Smith

WasteWise Benalla - Kaye Blore
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Website and Social Media Report - Beverley Lee and Peter Maddock


Judy Schwartzman
Secretary

​The Benalla Food Co-op  celebrated a significant milestone on Saturday 9th May, marking 15 years of supporting the local community with a special anniversary lunch enjoyed by members old and new.

Twenty-three members attended the celebration, including six newer members. The event was described as a wonderful success, with many members commenting on how much they enjoyed the day and the opportunity to connect with fellow co-op members.

Guests shared an impressive spread of homemade dishes, many of which were prepared by the guests using products from the co-op.

During the celebration, Christine Holmes, one of the founding members, gave a short presentation reflecting on the history of the co-op and acknowledged Sonia Bourke for her ongoing work and dedication in her role as co-op manager. 

The lunch not only celebrated 15 successful years but also highlighted the strong sense of community that continues to make the Benalla Food Co-op a valued local organisation.

The Benalla Food Co-operative remains committed to enabling members to purchase mainly Australian-produced, non-perishable foods without packaging.  Supporting local and regional producers whenever possible is a key focus of the Co-op, along with reducing packaging and supporting Australian growers to cut down on food miles and costs.

Non-perishable items such as flour, cereals, seeds, rice, sugar, beans, dried fruit, and nuts are available in bulk, with an increasing range of organic products offered. Fair trade organic tea and coffee are also available, and members can purchase any quantity of products they need. To further reduce waste, members are encouraged to bring their own containers.

To learn more about the Benalla Food Co-operative and find out how you can support sustainable food practices, community members are welcome to email [email protected] or pop in during one of the four monthly open sessions:

1 st Monday (3:30-5:30pm)
2 nd and 4 th Saturday (9.30-11.30am)
3 rd Thursday (9.30-11.30am)
The 4th Saturday coincides with the Benalla market day.

The Benalla Food Co-Op operates from the kindergarten hall at the Benalla Uniting Church, Carrier St Benalla (opposite Coles).

Standing: Rosalie Thomas, Sonia Bourke, Peter Holmes, Tanya Walker, Graeme Greed, Judy Schwarzman, Kevin Smith and Roger Harrop
Seated: Christine Holmes and Georgie Donaldson

RENEWABLE ENERGY BENALLA (REB) is a small subgroup of BSFG and promotes the efficient use of Renewable Energy in the Benalla region.
 
REB attends the bi-monthly meetings of NERSA (North East Regional Sustainability Alliance), which cover all sustainable activities in the whole North East region. It is very inspiring to find out just how much is going on overall, even when we have difficulty in making much progress locally. The very extensive minutes are circulated to interested REB members.
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REB also attends the CEN (Community Energy Network) bi-monthly meetings. This group has speakers on all aspects of the rapidly evolving Community Energy scene, with emphasis on how the Community can benefit from the current fast moving policy changes and development of large PV farms and big Batteries in our locality.
 
Throughout the year REB has attended several public information sessions held by PV and Battery Developers. We have generally supported them as they do not involve prime farmland, and their environmental footprint is minor.
 
REB has been overseeing the Revolving Fund set up from an initial seeding Community Grant from an earlier PV farm developer. This fund is used to install PV behind the meter for local not for profit identities such as kindergartens, with the recipients repaying the cost from savings made. The first two kindergartens have just completed repayments (and now own the assets), and earlier this year we installed an installation for Ed Space
 
REB ran a series of public education seminars on renewable energy some years ago.  We have been looking at a possible new series, now including "Electrify Everything” and assisting the reduction of Gas appliances. We are still assessing how to target sufficient interest to make the considerable effort required worthwhile.
 
Some of our members have been heavily involved in an application for a Community Grant of about $80k for Swanpool Hall. This grant is to improve the Hall workability as the Neighbourhood Safer Place and includes increasing the PV to 30 kW and a 50kWh battery. The grant process is a long, tortuous nightmare - we have got through the first stage and have just completed the last stage. We now wait (patiently!) to see if it is successful.
 
REB is just a small group, and we would welcome more interested members.
 
Kevin Smith, Convenor REB
28 May 2026

The Benalla Food Co-op is in its 15th year of operation and currently has a membership of 77 households with over sixty of them shopping regularly.

Earlier this month, this milestone anniversary was celebrated with a lunch attended by 23 general and committee co-op members, including several of the newer members. Everyone contributed something to the meal, making use of co-op produce wherever possible. During the celebration lunch Christine gave a short talk on the history of the food co-op, Sonia thanked the members for their contribution, and a photograph was taken for inclusion in an article in The Ensign.

This article, along with some other forms or promotion will be on the agenda for the coming months, as the committee has agreed we have room to grow our numbers. One of our new Duty Managers, Louisa Marstan has offered to assist the committee in the areas of promotional and marketing materials, which we hope to have prepared in the second half of this year. This will include updating and reprinting the flyers, fridge magnet yearly calendar with open dates and possibly marketing via social media. Sonia also plans to refresh (or possibly remake) the aprons as they are looking a bit tired.

The committee made the decision to purchase a chest freezer to help address the issues of stock loss due to bugs throughout the warmer weather. Whilst we have still experienced some stock losses, it certainly has helped to improve the situation. Rosalie has also been vigilant with cleaning and the changing of bait traps. Additionally, a working bee has been organised for Monday 25th May.

Little has changed with our product list this year. Price Increases have been significant for some products. Some of our regular and much-loved products such as the range or organic spices, cocoa and more recently, some of the flours have been difficult to source for a variety of reasons. We successfully sourced organic spices from an alternative supplier, Terra Madre and may continue to do so in the future, depending on Austral Herbs stock availability. Our markup remains at 20%.

The Committee decided to make the earlier open time on Monday afternoons a permanent fixture to our monthly schedule.

Thank you to Kate Holmes for the overall accounting matters (see Kate’s financial year report). Thank you Christine for continuing to coordinate the roster and Peter for ongoing management of the day-to-day accounts as well as the biannual stock take. The Holmes continue to be a huge support to me in my role as coordinator.
Thank you to Rhona for the regular email update despite challenges getting through to some members email addresses.
Thank you to Rosalie for her continued efforts with cleaning.
Thank you Julienne, for packaging the most recent spices delivery. And Maren and Marlies for their ongoing assistance with the spices.
Thank you to my husband Damien who continues to regularly collect products and helped unload and stack into the cupboards.
Thank you to Beverley Lee and Peter Maddock for maintaining our social media and BSFG website presence.

A special thank you to Glenys Gill and Sally O’Brien for the many years serving as computer operators and who have both stepped back this year due to personal circumstances. We wish Glenys all the best with her recovery from treatment.

Co-op Committee: Sonia, Christine (rosters), Peter (finance), Rhona (weekly up-dates), Judy (BSFG secretary), Rosalie (cleaning), Tanya and Loren.
Duty managers: Sonia, Tanya, Rosalie, Christine, Rhona, Joy, Robyn, Eleanor, Claire, Jenny Muller, Loren Atkinson (new/returning) and Louisa Marsten (new)
iPad Operators: Peter, Karen, Simon, Stacy, Deanne, Graham, Jenny, Julienne, Maren, Marlies, Tracy and Robert.
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Enquires/feedback welcome via the BSFG website or the Co-op email [email protected]

Sonia Bourke
Thursday 28 May 2026

The Image below shows the film synopses and speaker profiles from the SEFF 2026 Program. The Program can be downloaded here as PDF, or click on the image.

Benalla Sustainable Future Group invites Members and Supporters to attend our Annual General Meeting at 7:30pm on Thursday 28th May 2026 in the Benalla Uniting Church Meeting Room opposite Coles car park. We are aiming to screen a short environmental film after the business part of the meeting.

BSFG Membership
At AGM time we also remind our members to consider renewing their membership, and for supporters to think about becoming a member of BSFG. 
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Our website  https://www.bsfg.org.au/  has information about membership. You can apply to become a member by following the JOIN tab / ONLINE MEMBERSHIP FORM  or by following this direct link  https://www.bsfg.org.au/online-membership-form.html  

If you are aware of anyone who may be interested in our Group's activities who is not yet a member, please feel free to invite them to our AGM and of course to our ordinary meetings held quarterly throughout the year.  As you know, we have a wide range of interests and in the current national and global situation our personal and collective actions as community members for ourselves and our descendants are of paramount importance.

Here are links to related information
*Nomination Form for Executive positions. 
*Minutes - AGM 2025
​*Financial Report - AGM 2025
*Agenda - AGM 2026
Also *Photos and Reports - AGM 2025
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A light supper will be served at the end of the evening.
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Please RSVP your attendance at  [email protected]    We hope you can join us for this occasion.

Judy Schwarzman
Secretary, Benalla Sustainable Future Group

It is now approximately 4 years since BSFG held its Strategic Planning Workshops with Cath Botta. At those workshops, many of our current Action Groups were formed, and considerable work has been done by those groups to further BSFG's Purposes. *Please read BSFG's Statement of Purpose.

After another Review of Action Groups at our 2026 February General Meeting, we now have the following Action Groups:
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1. Food Co-operative - has an active membership participation and committee
2. Renewable Energy Benalla
3. Website / Social Media
4. Wastewise Benalla
5. Environmentally Sustainable Design and Development merged with Greening and Cooling, and is planning to include Sustainable Agriculture, with a new name to be decided.  

We now ask that members and supporters seriously consider contributing to these Action Groups - particularly groups 2 to 5. If you have an interest in one or more of these groups, and some time to be involved, we would love to hear from you! Meetings are not overly frequent or burdensome, and you would have the opportunity to work with like-minded people. 

The Action Groups will set a meeting date and time where they will 

• decide on a convenor, 
• review the original Terms of Reference, and if a new group will rewrite the group's terms of reference as the first thing on their agenda. Action Group information can be found at bsfg.org.au under the Action Groups tab. 
• use BSFG's Statement of Purpose to guide the Action Groups' Terms of Reference...see attached.

Your participation are sought to be part of this process if you are able. Why? ...this is from our 2022 review, and still applies:-

Please reply to this email address with your interest in being part of the action and the inspiration, and stay tuned for Action Group meeting dates and times.

Judy Schwartzman
Secretary, Benalla Sustainable Future Grouop

P.S. A poem from Drew Dillinger for your consideration - it was quoted in  'Optimism - Reflections on a life of action’ by Bob Brown and is part of the poem

​‘Hieroglyphic Stairway' by Drew Dillinger
 
                        it's 3:23 in the morning
                        and I'm awake
                        because my great great grandchildren
                        won't let me sleep,
                        my great great grandchildren
                        ask me in dreams
                        what did you do while the planet was plundered?
                        what did you do when the earth was unravelling?
                        surely you did something
                        when the seasons started failing?
                        as the mammals, reptiles and birds were all dying?
                        did you fill the streets with protest
                        when democracy was stolen?
                        what   did   you   do
                        once   you     knew?

This event will be held at Gecko Clan Landcare Office, 72 Bridge St E, Benalla VIC 3672, Australia, Wednesday 6 May 2026, 6.30pm - 8.30pm.

PRESENTER KYLIE MACREADIE, Land Management, Extension Officer

• An essential workshop for those new to farming or reviewing their grazing management
• Learn about land classes on your property
• Increase returns from your productive land
• Options to improve farm natural capital

All details in the Flyer, Download.
Event bookings, https://events.humanitix.com/land-classing-for-productivity-and-natural-capital-improvement.
Or click on the flyer image below.

PS, Executive Officer Kerri Robson advises some local Landcare Groups may have recently had discussions about the Miyawaki Method of tree planting, including planting trials, www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-28/tiny-forests-miyawaki-method-solving-perths-tree-canopy-problem/104098600
This may be discussed during or after the meeting and may have relevance for the BSFG Greening and Cooling Group, https://www.bsfg.org.au/greening-and-cooling-our-urban-spaces

The celebratory lunch to acknowledge the co-op’s 15th year is next Saturday 9th May, at 12.15 pm in the Supper Room of the Uniting Church.

Please indicate what food you will bring to share.   Christine will collate the list of foods.  The committee will then fill the gaps to ensure a balance of food. 
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RSVP Christine - [email protected] - by Wednesday 6 May at the latest.

​Rhona Rose