Rebecca Baker: Woolies, here’s why you don’t mess with the ladies from CWA and their scone mix

WOOLWORTHS and its rival supermarket giants could learn a thing or two from the Country Women’s Association. And it starts with leaving its scone mix well alone.

PEOPLE CARE: Within hours of the story breaking in The Advertiser, Woolies had back-pedalled on a decision to pull Laucke’s much-loved Country Women’s Association scone mix from its shelves. Pictured are SACWA’s Roslyn Schumann Shirly Frawley. Photo: Naomi Jellicoe

• Laucke flour products in limbo on Woolworths shelves

THEY are a special breed of women like no other. They are fiesty, determined, passionate, resilient, hardworking and big-hearted.

They are the backbone — and voice — of their local communities and let’s not forget they can make a mean batch of scones.

We’re talking, of course, of the ladies, many aged in their 70s, 80s and even 90s, who make up the Country Women’s Association.

And if there’s a group of women you’d be well advised not to mess with, it is these good souls.

Woolworths tried this week and the backlash was fast and furious. I’m talking, of course, of the supermarket giant’s decision to remove seven locally made products from its shelves, including Laucke’s much-loved Country Women’s Association scone mix. It was a bad move on so many levels.

For the past 10 years, a chunk of the scone mix’s proceeds has been given to the CWA to support country people needing emergency help such as cancer treatment or in escaping domestic violence — raising more than $300,000.

Within hours of the story breaking in The Advertiser, Woolies had back-pedalled, issuing a statement: “Laucke CWA Scone Mix will continue to be stocked at Woolworths”.

But, Laucke Flour’s owner Mark Laucke said yesterday there was still no clarity over whether Woolworths would meet the asking wholesale price. The story ought to serve as a reminder to Woolies and its competitors that people do care and communities do matter — that many shoppers are happy to pay a little extra to support a local company or a good cause and there is none more worthy than the CWA and the work its members do.

(And how about we leave consumers with choice, not just supermarket giant homebrand products.)

For me, Mrs B, a stalwart of the small Western Australian rural community I grew up in, is the quintessential CWA lady.

She is a past president of the local CWA branch but by her own admission is just a fledgling member, having joined only several decades ago, pointing out her friend Mary has been a member for 60 years.

Aged in her 80s, she is a brilliant cook, tireless worker and there isn’t anything she wouldn’t do to help someone in need, fitting it all in between travelling hundreds of kilometres each week to help look after her grandchildren and on top of her volunteer work with other community groups.

“Helping the community is what the CWA is all about,” she tells me. “It’s just what we do — we all just love the caring spirit that’s there to help those in need.”

When one of the member’s sisters was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease aged in her early 50s, the CWA women wasted no time setting about raising money for research into a cure for the heartbreaking illness.

Then when the wife of a machinery dealer in town — also a mum to several young children — was diagnosed with a life-threatening melanoma, the CWA ladies set their sights on raising money to help her family.

They also provide scholarships to help local schoolchildren and buy books to boost the rural school’s library. The focus at the moment is raising money to make sure the town’s only childcare centre, which is struggling financially, can keep operating.

Last weekend the CWA ladies catered for an event to celebrate the opening of a new ambulance service in town, cooking for about 100.

Now they — there are just 12 of them — are planning their next catering gig, where they’ll feed more than 300 farmers and townsfolk at an end-of-year Christmas party hosted by the town’s business owners to say thank you to their clients.

In South Australia, our CWA ladies have been working for almost 90 years to help “empower women”, give countryfolk a voice and provide support to those in need in a myriad of ways —. not least through its Emergency Aid Fund “to assist those in need across SA and the nation in times of disaster”, making up baby parcels for “needy mums”, providing education grants to country kids and supporting indigenous communities.

And, of course, baking tens of thousands of scones for show-goers each year.

Woolies might want to keep this mind ​next time they are talking to Mark Laucke.