What does Scrub Turkey mean to Belinda Wanless?

Sc–Rub Tur–kee [noun] • Adapts to local habitat • Prefers sustainable stuff

Living on the Sunshine Coast, the scrub turkey is a familiar sight for all. It’s a highly adaptable native bird, which prefers to nourish itself from nuts, seeds and fruits that occur naturally in its habitat. It’s no surprise that the newest addition to the Warana Market Square, Scrub Turkey, created by the founding family from BFresh, is named and based on these very principles.

Life Matters caught up with Belinda Wanless, one of the owners and creator, to discuss what Scrub Turkey is all about!

Where did the inspiration for Scrub Turkey come from? We are constantly inspired by the many talented and passionate people around us. We saw Scrub Turkey as an opportunity to create a space to showcase this. How is Scrub Turkey different to BFresh? At BFresh, we have always strived to outsource the best quality gourmet products. At Scrub Turkey those same values are still there, it’s just a little more laid back and a little more local. We are also focusing on organic produce and products. Why is organic important to you? Well what’s really important to me is living an organic lifestyle. We can become so focused on a certified stamp that we forget what organics, and healthy lifestyle, is all about. Enjoying good quality, fresh food that has been grown nearby and is in season can be a lot better for you than an organic product that has been shipped from somewhere, wrapped in plastic and then stored for an undisclosed amount of time but has a stamp to say ‘its certified organic’. Just because the plastic label says organic we think it’s good for us - how many miles did that product travel? How old is it? I love when one of our locals, Pete, drops in first thing in the morning with some passionfruit off his vine. They smell fantastic and go straight into the morning fruit salad. Or when one of our girls brings in a basket of eggs from her chooks; eggs on sourdough from Walters in Buderim for breakfast! What a great way to start the day. Produce in particular needs to be fresh and not transported from too far away, organic or conventionally grown. Living a healthy lifestyle, eating good food with friends, watching the sun come up, and go down, going for a drive on a country road, washing the dust off later and remembering how much fun it was, picking up some veggies at a farm gate. There’s so many things to do out there to contribute to a healthy lifestyle.

Why should we make the change to ‘organic’? It’s really a personal choice, we shouldn’t do anything unless it’s something we want to do. Where do you source the produce and products from? Everywhere! We are always looking for new products and new farmers; our doors are always open, we are trying to keep our produce as local as possible. Some of our products will come from other areas in Queensland and Australia. We have a great couple that make beautiful chutneys and relishes from Stanthorpe; Byron Bay has a bounty of handmade quality products - we love being able to also showcase these products that have been made with so much passion. If Scrub Turkey could make one change in the world? How good if everyone was a little less judgmental and a lot more accepting of others. a