A small, family-owned butchery is doing its bit for men’s health at a generous weekly event, and it’s hoped other businesses will follow suit.
The Original Forest Glen Butchery and its relatively new owners Brenton and Mel Harris have been hosting Friday afternoon gatherings in support of men’s health and suicide awareness.
They give away meat trays, and guests enjoy a barbecue and a chat.
Brenton said the death of a football identity prompted them to start the initiative.
“I’m a big rugby league fan and when I heard about Paul Green passing, we decided to get a bit of awareness out there, so it doesn’t keep happening,” he said.
“If we can do that, it might help some people.
“The events offer a safe space for men to come and have a chat if they want to.”
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He said many men were battling mental challenges for a variety of reasons, including cost of living.
“That’s just one factor of many,” he said.
“Some men can’t see their kids after separating, some aren’t able to work, some are on pensions. It’s a tough gig out there for some blokes, so we’re just trying to help out a bit.”
Brenton said the event also supported families who were doing it tough, which is one of the reasons they give away hundreds of dollars’ worth of meat trays.
“Interest rates are going through the roof and a lot of young families are struggling to pay for food,” he said.
“So, we just try to help out with a bit of meat for the week.”
He hoped other businesses could also host weekly gatherings, to support people’s health and wellbeing.
“I hope local businesses start doing the same sort of thing, to help more people,” he said.
Brenton and Mel took over the Forest Glen butchery about four months ago and started the weekly gatherings almost three months ago, relocating from Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast in the process. There were about 30 men at the gathering last week.
Brenton said he was proud of the butchery’s products.
“Our big thing is our snags,” he said.
“We put proper meat in them. I use brisket for beef snags and pork shoulder for our pork snags, and we add fresh ingredients for flavour.
“We also pride ourselves on our slow and low stuff, so we always have a good range of briskets, pork ribs and beef ribs.”
“We’re not a cheap butcher shop but we’re a very good quality butcher shop and we’ve found here that people are happy to pay for quality.”
The butchery is also preparing for Christmas, with “really nice hams.”
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