Flaxmere still waiting for supermarket revival as another food provider closes down

The push to bring a supermarket back to the Hawke’s Bay suburb of Flaxmere appears to have stalled, even as another food provider shuts down.

Sustainable Hawke’s Bay has decided to suspend the Flaxmere Food Co-op trial after six months of operation because of slow growth in orders.

The group launched in May to supply the community with regular, healthy and affordable kai after Flaxmere New World closed in February.

Sustainable Hawke’s Bay chief executive Emma Horgan said she was disappointed to suspend the service, but viewed it as a temporary setback.

A vacant site and a vacant building are a reminder that a supermarket option for Flaxmere is vital for the community.

“The Flaxmere Food Co-op is just the first of several food resilience projects we hope to trial in the region, with other local initiatives now at the scoping and planning stage.”

She said the project identified that food poverty and related needs were greater than expected and future projects would focus on “free or low-cost options”.

Horgan acknowledged the contribution of partners and volunteers to the Food Co-op, including Flaxmere College, Manaaki Mai o Pāharakeke, Flaxmere Planning Committee, Hastings District Council and Food Together.

“I’d like to give a special shout-out to the group of dedicated students led by Flaxmere College teachers who showed up every Thursday afternoon and volunteered to pack kete kai for distribution.”

She said the food co-op trial was designed to provide another option so the community did not have to ”rely exclusively on the supermarket duopoly and long supply chains vulnerable to natural disasters”.

“As these risk factors have not changed for our communities, our determination to establish pathways to equitable, resilient communities has most definitely not changed.”

At the beginning of August Hastings District Council (HDC) said it had entered into an agreement to sell a vacant Flaxmere site that Foodstuffs once promised to build a new supermarket on, stating it looked forward to sharing more information in the “coming weeks”.

More than two months on, HDC director of growth and development Raoul Oosterkamp said on Friday he could not provide any updates on what was happening at the vacant site.

He said all work being done related to the sale and purchase agreement remained confidential.

“Timelines are not available at this stage, however, will be made available as soon as possible.”

The former New World building in the Flaxmere shopping village also remains vacant despite an announcement in July that a lease had been signed with a tenant who planned to open an independent supermarket.

A Sung Family Trust spokesperson told Hawke’s Bay Today the tenant didn’t want to disclose any information.

“Landlord’s works are still being carried out at the premises and should be completed by the end of this month.”

The spokesperson said it would then be up to the tenant to fit out the space, which they did not have a timeframe for.

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.