Business enters voluntary insolvency
A Palmerston North wholefoods shop and education centre is facing an uncertain future.
In an email sent to customers onMay 13 from Wholegrain Organics, the business stated it had decided to enter voluntary insolvency and would ‘‘review the business to see if there are possibilities to restructure’’. The email said any orders in process or refunds due at the time of the notice would still be completed.
The non-profit business has a shop, bread mill, distribution centre, cafe and a children’s workshop at its premises on the north side of The Square.
It also owned a small produce farm and since 2015, both sites had hosted programmes for children and teenagers allowing them to get hands-on experience growing fresh produce and preparing organic food.
Its educational programmes had young people harvesting plants, cooking them in Wholegrain Organics’ production kitchen, and serving them to customers in store.
The programmes had seen students from a wide range of schools, including Queen Elizabeth College, Freyberg High School and Manukura School. The programmes proved so popular that last year, the company asked the public for help through PledgeMe to bring in more money to cope with demand.
Founded by owner Robert Hall in 2008, the business is part of the Sabbath Rest Advent Church, a sect of the Adventist branch of Christianity.
A registered charity, its annual returns records show it had not generated a profit since 2016, generating losses ranging from $9000 to $421,000. Owner Robert Hall declined to comment until a final decision was made on the future of the business, while schools previously involved could not be reached for comment.