New freezer secures essential foods for Croker Island

The Minjilang Store on Croker Island which sits 250km northeast of Darwin has a new freezer capable of securing food and keeping it fresh for longer for its 311 local Indigenous residents.

Pallets of frozen food no longer need to be unpacked outside the freezer and carried into the freezer as the larger space provides access for pallets to be wheeled directly into the freezer, allowing staff to get food on the shelves faster and in better condition.

The store is owned and managed by The Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation (ALPA) and Area Manager Daman Ryan says the Minjilang Store is the only store servicing the Croker Island community, so food security for this community is vitally important.

‘Croker Island has a small population. The main language spoken on the Island is Iwaidja, which is an endangered language with only around 200 speakers remaining in the world,‘ Daman says.

‘Late last year, with help of the Local Investments Funding Grant, we were able to build a new freezer room.

‘The freezer is secure and provides more space, meaning we can store more food for the community. ’

Daman says this means storing popular foods; like chicken, beef, vegetables and bread and traditional foods.

‘Having this new freezer room in the community allows us to hold more stock,’ Daman says.

‘The community receives all deliveries by barge that is at sea for 5-6 days before we receive it.

‘Fresh food can be quite challenging; however we work hard to make sure we receive the best quality produce available and our new freezer room allows us more space and easy access to unload quickly, even in poor weather.’

Croker Island gets only one delivery a week. The store tries to hold a substantial amount of stock to ensure food security. 

‘This gives us a buffer in case something goes wrong. This has always been achievable with dry goods however, holding weeks of freezer stock has been impossible previously with the old freezer.

‘With the delivery of the new freezer room, we now have the ability to store more essential food, allowing ALPA to increase our holdings in the wet season where we are at high risk of Cyclones’.

Croker Island Store Storeman Lucas Cooper says the new freezer is great for the island.

 ‘It is easy to put pallets in. I can load the trolley and fill the shop for the customers. It’s good for Croker Island.’