It has won statewide awards, been visited by celebrities and helped feed the needy, but Inverell’s BEST Nursery and Food Garden is about to close.
The BEST Employment (BEST) Board has announced it is “no longer possible” to keep the much-loved facility open in the face of disappearing government subsidies.
“BEST purchased the nursery complex 15 years ago, expecting that it would be a profitable addition to the BEST portfolio and cherished community hub,” BEST Board Chair Jon Watts said.
“Unfortunately, the closure of the local NSW Forestry offices and lack of other community partnerships has meant that BEST has operated the Nursery and Food Garden at substantial annual losses since its inception.”
“We have kept it open due to the multiple community benefits and outcomes it provided, however recent Federal Government reform of Employment Services and the National Disability Insurance Scheme, which are BEST’s core programs, meant such subsidisation is no longer possible.”
The facility was once a Forestry NSW tree production facility but was set to close in 2009 until it was bought by BEST and turned into a garden retail outlet, commercial tree facility and social enterprise.
From there, the BEST Food Garden was born in 2012.
Fresh food was propagated and harvest on site, before being delivered by clients of local disability organisations to those in need in the community- not only in Inverell, but in other areas including, Glen Innes, Moree and Tingha.
A BEST Employment video uploaded seven years ago – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YBo2H7xaEY – shows former social programs co-ordinator, Danny Middleton, sharing his story of how he took an idea for clients learning how to grow their own veggies – which expanded into the food program – to the BEST board.
“I said look, I’ve got an idea that’s going to cost us a lot of money, we’re not going to make one cent off it but it’s going to achieve fantastic social outcomes,” the employee said. “And to their credit, without hesitation, they said go for it.”
The BEST Nursery and BEST Food Garden has won a number of awards during its 15 years of operation, including the Regional Development Northern Inland Innovation Awards Horticulture Category in 2016, the People’s Choice for the NSW/ACT Regional Achievement and Community Awards in 2015, and runner-up in ABC Gardening Australia’s Community Garden of the Year in 2014.
It has been visited by celebrities such as Costa Georgiadis of Gardening Australia fame, Members of Parliament and the Governor of NSW.
It is described on BEST’s website as “a safe space for people with disability, students and long-term unemployed jobseekers to learn new skills and participate in meaningful activities. The project strives to promote community collaboration to build a stronger, more resilient and socially inclusive community”.
The BEST Nursery and BEST Food Garden has over the years been awarded a number of grants, including $24,500 Community Building Partnership Program grant in 2016 for a disabled access toilet and washroom.
Then Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall said, at the time, the BEST Nursery and Food Garden was a “showcase of how to ‘grow’ self-esteem, skills, satisfaction and rewards across so many sectors of the community”.
In its recent announcement, the BEST Employment Board cited “rising operational costs, combined with lower-than-expected demand for production services” as impacting the facility’s financial viability.
“Despite examining a range of different options to sustain the operation, changing markets have compelled the board to make the difficult decision to cease operations,” the statement from BEST CEO Anna Watt said.
“The Nursery and Food Garden’s contribution to the Inverell community would not have been possible without the input of BEST’s loyal and passionate nursery staff.”
“Their dedication, hard work and commitment has transformed the lives of many in our local community.”
“BEST’s Vision is to develop and support independent, thriving and resilient communities, and our staff’s contribution at the nursery has done just that. In addition, the nursery has benefitted from generous donations of time, money and resources from our network of volunteers, local partners and donors.”
“We are incredibly grateful and give thanks to everyone who has been part of this journey over the years.”
The statement noted BEST remained committed to fulfilling its purpose of providing inclusive services and support to “assist and empower people and communities to realise their full potential”.
Workforce Australia, Disability Employment Services, NDIS supports and Community Services programs in regional NSW and Qld, and the BEST Community Shed in Inverell will continue to operate.
“Support with food assistance, community programs, educational workshops, disability supports, skills-building and employment programs will continue to be available to residents thanks to Inverell’s network of various local community organisations,” the statement said.
When approached for further comment, BEST responded nursery employees would be either redeployed or offered redundancy and no decision had yet been made about the future of the facility.
The doors to the retail facility will remain open until stock has been sold, and BEST noted it would continue to honour existing orders and gift vouchers until closure.
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