There are plenty of reasons locals think of Devonport as a village, or even ‘the village: its seaside location, peninsula-end geography, historic homes, Windsor Reserve etc. But if there is one thing that turns a suburb into a village it lies in the community spirit found therein, and in Devonport there’s no better example than Uglys community pantry.
Justin Burke and his wife Kathy are the very community-minded folk behind Uglys, cleverly sub-titled ‘Beautiful On The Inside’. Operating largely out of a driveway in Clarence St. with an honesty box stall and prices from $1 to $5, Justin describes it as an op-shop for food.
Their low profit business model stems from the first Covid lockdown which brought an abrupt end to Justin's travel agency business in March 2020. “I was walking around and saw all the fruit on trees. That started it! I thought we could use that surplus as a way to support schools and sports clubs.”
Kathy’s jam and chutney-making from Devonport’s unwanted fruit soon led to offers of end-of-day bakery items and other food waste resources, and in the collection process Justin discovered that across the peninsula there were numerous people facing hardships, including from several Council-owned housing areas. Today much of the food-sharing he does is with produce donated by supermarkets and smaller businesses such as Devonport’s Baked, taken directly to those struggling and often lonely residents.
He loves to chat and loves what pleasure such simple acts of charitable giving bring. Not only is Uglys minimising waste but helping people in need through old fashioned acts of kindness. “That’s what it’s about, and also I want to spread that idea of locals helping locals.”
You’ll find Justin selling a range of (beautiful on the inside!) fresh fruit and Kathy’s delicious produce from a market table in central Devonport each weekend. The business keeps growing and he recently started printing a simple newsletter called Chatter, to help explain what Uglys is doing around our community.
One great example is the twice-weekly delivery of bread and rolls to Bayswater Kindergarten, where staff have turned the donations into a game for their tamariki. Each gets to choose a bag to take home as a contribution to their family food stocks – a neat way for them to learn about food and waste, as well as giving and receiving.
Devonport village is enriched by such community spirit, and the Uglys’ jams, relishes and sauces really do put the ‘local’ into shop local.
