Most people don’t have to think about heading to the store or even having a store in their community.

We take having fresh food available to us as a given not a luxury but for the Goodooga community this has been their reality, with the nearest store being 100kilometre or more away and only essentials like bread and milk being able to be purchased at the local Post Office. 

As living costs and petrol prices began to rise Goodooga families were wondering how they were supposed to survive.

In 2019 the Federal Liberal and Nationals Government invested $1.7 million over three years to establish an Indigenous-owned and operated store in Goodooga. 

Contact was made with Outback Stores, which was founded in late 2006 by a group of large, mainstream retailers supported by Indigenous Business Australia.

Fifteen years on, Outback Stores has a network of 49 stores across the remote areas of the Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia, and New South Wales.

The model is based on improving community nutrition and ensuring a reliable food supply.

The local children have given the thumbs up to having more food on offer. SOURCE: facebook

In October last year after Outback Stores business development manager Andrew Johanson spent a month in Goodooga, getting the shop ready and getting to know the community. 

“Food security is a real issue here. People here were struggling with the trip, especially those without licenses or cars," he said.

"They were relying on other people to buy them food or the post office would pick up food at a cost. It was getting quite expensive."  

Mr Crag Boxall, Area Manager at Outback Stores, says the model has been a success so far.

 “It is challenging running stores in remote communities, with difficult logistics and costs to consider. But Outback Stores was established fifteen years ago for that very reason, so these challenges are nothing new to us. It is still early days for the store in Goodooga," he said.

"The Store has seen its mains power upgraded, which enables the store to run the air-conditioning, fridges, and freezers, as well as the new 24-hour fuel pump that is about to be installed.”

The first of its kind in NSW, the Outback Stores project was finally finished, and Goodooga witnessed the opening of its first store in 10 years.

The store is now officially opened and operating. Serving both locals and visitors, it is now bringing local employment and money into the town. 

There is already one young local woman working at the store. Her name is Masie Lamb. Hopefully this will encourage many more young locals to become employed.

“The store is certainly looking great, with modern fittings and a good range of groceries, as well as fresh fruit and vegies, and fresh meat. In line with Outback Stores’ Healthy Food Policy, the price of fresh fruit and vegetables is kept as close as possible to metropolitan retailers, and in some cases even cheaper," said Mr Boxall

Karen Lane, a local woman working at the school in Goodooga said, “Before the store we had to travel to Lightning Ridge and stock up on food." 

Karen asked the kids in class how they liked the store, and some said, 'It’s good because its somewhere we can get our recess and lunch’. They also said they like that their parents don’t have to travel out of town all the time.

The saving this will have on families is going to impact the community greatly and take stresses away from struggling families. 

 “We love having a local store because it brings community together," Karen said.

"The relief of having a local store is mostly felt by those who don’t have the means to do a weekly trip to Lightning Ridge, for example the elderly. The impact to the wider community will certainly increase when the 24-hour fuel pump is installed, because at the moment the closest fuel is a thirty-minute drive to Hebel," said Mr Boxall.