The Story Of How FROG Came To Be

I feel like I just missed my child's birthday... in all the craziness I totally missed FROG's 8th birthday of adulthood... I say adulthood, because FROG's history goes back longer than 8 years... more like 14 actually.

It all started with my old Yoga teacher Lynette, and her husband Wayne. They were desperate for organic food and 14 years ago Hervey Bay definitely did not cater to that market, so being resourceful and determined, Lyn contacted the old Natural Foodstore down at Forest Glen (now, known as Kunara) and organised a regular produce order to fill the 10 boxes or so for the group of friends she'd organised. Back in the old Dial-Up days it was all done by phone or word of mouth, using a calculator and continued like this for many years. As Lyns yoga class grew, so did the group of people ordering the boxes, and soon the group had doubled.
As the group grew the small garage we packed out of became unsuitable, and thankfully Pam and Max who owned Fraser Coast Free Range Eggs offered up the use of a spare shed they had out there. Each Thursday morning a group of us would do Yoga with Lyn then head on out to Dundowran to pack the boxes- often with babies strapped to our backs.

It was an exciting time for FROG (who finally got its name around that time- F.R.O.G back then stood for Fraser Region Organic Group- these days we're just called FROG Organic Boxes- its less of a mouthful!)... there was a buzz about the little group we'd formed...Lyn continued to try and keep things organised, but as the group grew the accounts and ordering required more time so we delegated the jobs out as best we could. FROG had outgrown the basic system it was based on and Lyn was pretty snowed under trying to keep all the balls in the air. As Lyn focused her energy on a new Holistic Hub, my friend Kellee and I offered to take FROG on ourselves with view to expand it- both our kids were at a stage where we had more time, and we were looking for something wholesome to sink our teeth into- FROG seemed like the perfect little venture, and Lyn kindly passed over the reins to us.

Kelly and I spent the next few months getting the word out about FROG- we held market stalls and told anyone that would listen.
Back then we only offered a few different sized set- boxes and all the orders were still placed via email. Even though my dad had stepped in and created a basic spreadsheet for us to work with (if there's any opportunity to create a spreadsheet, he WILL create one!), so much was still done manually, but we did our best and plodded along week after week....that was until Kellee fell pregnant only a few short months later, and moved to the Sunshine Coast.

Little did I know that this would be the beginning of what now feels like a life-long calling. With Kellee gone, I stepped up and took FROG on alone. I'd never run a business before so I was kind of thrown in the deep-end, but I enjoyed the challenge. Shortly after that I swapped my car for a van and got a website designed, and that's when FROG really grew up and became a young version of what it is today.
Looking at what FROG is today, compared to its baby tadpole days is pretty mind-blowing. The back of house processes- all so automated thanks to that gloriously improved spreadsheet, and ease of ordering we can now offer really shows how much technology has changed this world we live in.

There have been many highs and lows over the years, there have been challenges to overcome and oh so many amazing people have come through and played a crucial part in the FROG Team, but if there is any constant, it's always been my mum and dad, there to step in and help at every crisis, and of course my husband Liam- always my biggest supporter- and despite having his own rendering business even he has dropped his trowel and jumped in to help many times! Yes it always has and always will be a roller coaster of a team effort!

The awareness and need for organic and chemical free food has become a focus for so many of us these days.
For me the penny dropped when my kids were born- suddenly it really mattered what I fed my family. I'd always been health conscious and had a strong passion for natural alternatives, but nothing motivates you more than 2 helpless little humans totally reliant on you giving them the best start to life- feeding them with food covered in chemicals and pesticides never felt right.
13 years later as I look at my 2 healthy pre-teens I'm so thankful that I've been given the opportunities I had to follow my heart, and the best thing is that from this opportunity I have the ability to not only feed my family the best food, but affect other peoples lives in a positive way too.

FROG really is a business built on love and care. From its beginnings it was always community focused, and I love that there are still some people from the very early days who to this day still choose to eat from a FROG Box. If there is one thing that gives me the warm fuzzies its the fact that each week we supply the same returning families- some of you have been with us for many years, and I'm so grateful to each and every one of you who help create this amazing group. We might not know each other by face, but with each box I hope you feel connected and supported by this little business that started out with a group of friends and a desire for better food.

Life is a journey and its interesting looking back at the events that have occurred and how life-changing some of them ended up being in my life. I can't say I'm one to spend too much time focusing on future goals- so the day Kelly and I sat at the Purple Park playground with Lyn discussing the changing hands of FROG, I never would have thought that 8 years later I'd have been there each and every week, and to this day having packed a whopping 22,000 boxes! Wrap your head around that one!
I have no idea what the future holds, all I know is that right here, right now, I love what I do and the people I do it for. And that's all that matters to me!

Thank you for being a part of FROG, whatever role you have played in it, without you it would not be what it is today.

Happy Birthday to US!

Hip Hip Hooray!

♥ Celine