Two representatives of the company outlined policies regarding Woolworths’ role in the community at an information session on Thursday night following the annual general meeting of Glenrac (Glen Innes Natural Resources Advisory Committee). Glenrac has two links with the company; it has been a recipient of a grant from a Woolworths/Landcare sustainable farming fund, while a daughter of former Glenrac board member Col Crosby now works for the company in the area of change management, and was able to secure two staff members to speak to the community.

Woolworths community investment manager Amy Robinson discussed the various community grants and fundraising projects the supermarket giant invests in and how local communities can access these funds, while Woolworths group sustainability manager Armineh Mardirossian spoke about the company’s focus on climate change, how this affected security of food supplies, and policies regarding the range of items stocked.

Ms Robinson said the company’s head office had developed a number of programs to invest in the local community, including a Drought Action Day that distributed money through the Country Women’s Association to help needy families, and a $20 million fund for children’s health services at hospitals across the nation, including Tamworth.

However Ms Robinson said much of the local community and sporting sponsorship comes from communication from the community to the store manager who contacts head office to find the relevant grant available in their Investing in the Community programs.

Ms Mardirossian said policies about securing local produce were being influenced by increased costs as a result of climate change, as much as anything else.

“If there is a particular local product that people are keen on and that a competitor has, it will go through a review process and if it does prove to be popular we will get it into the store,” she said.