Trade Aid Whaingaroa Raglan celebrates World Fair Trade Day on Saturday May 12 from 9am-5pm with a global feast and the addition of some local flavour.
This year store manager Donna McGough is offering a sample of dishes created with a selection of delicious fair trade, organic and artisan-created food products sold in the shop, including a taste testing of Trade Aid olive oil and Ruapuke Artisan Bread.
The connection between Trade Aid and the tiniest bread shop in the Waikato goes back around five years when Jenny Carter approached former Trade Aid manager Lisa Thomson to use the front section of the store’s storage corridor.
“Trade Aid supports Jenny by giving her the space to sell her delicious bread. It works for Trade Aid and Ruapuke Bread – we support a local artisan and she helps us out as well. We definitely benefit from Jenny’s customers who make the most of buying their favourite sour dough and then popping in to purchase something here,” Donna says.
The global fair trade movement is fundamental to Trade Aid, but so is the relationship the organisation has with the local community, Donna says.
“We want to celebrate the amazing fair trade food products we sell in the shop and Jenny’s bread is the perfect accompaniment to our extra virgin olive oil which is sourced from importers in Palestine who focus on enhancing the farmers’ social and economic situations.”
The #LiveFair theme for World Fair Trade Day is a call to increase support for fair consumption and, Donna says, a growing number of New Zealanders are realising their consumption has an impact on the people who make the products Trade Aid buys.
“Raglan customers are really switched on when it comes to fair trade and our food products sell particularly well. We look forward to sharing some of our favourite recipes with customers and talking about what fair trade means to us.”
Head to the Trade Aid store in Bow Street to taste some of the recipes made by Donna and the volunteers using Trade Aid fair trade food products, including Trade Aid’s take on ginger crunch and other tasty delights.
Janine Jackson
