Bunnings sausage sizzles return

More Aussies will be able to snag themselves a sausage sandwich and help raise funds for community groups, with the return of Bunnings’ community sausage sizzles in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. The return of the event at selected stores is part of a carefully phased plan to get the community fundraising favourite back on track.

“Earlier this month we were excited to bring sausage sizzles back to Tasmania and the Northern Territory,” says Bunnings Chief Operating Officer, Deb Poole. “Community groups did a fantastic job adapting to the new physically-distanced layout and hygiene measures.”

Bunnings suspended community sausage sizzles in March due to COVID. For community groups that were booked over the following month, Bunnings donated $500 gift cards to these organisations to help with their fundraising efforts.

“We know community groups and customers in other states are just as keen to see them return, so we’re really excited to be bringing them back to Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia,” Poole says. “While our community groups are taking a number of extra precautions, what hasn’t changed is the great feeling of supporting a local community group and the unmistakable taste of an Aussie sausage sizzle.”

Community groups who had sausage sizzles pre-booked during the lockdown are being prioritised for the restart, with around two hundred groups booked for this weekend in Qld, SA and WA. Bunnings is also planning for the return of sausage sizzles in NSW and the ACT and will continue to consult with government, team members and community groups and continue to follow the latest health advice.

While the sizzle is back, there are changes to improve customer and community safety. These include separate ordering and pick-up points to allow for 1.5 metres’ of physical distancing, increased cleaning processes and hygiene requirements, increased signage to guide customers and additional team members rostered to encourage physical distancing

The first community sausage sizzle was run 26 years ago at Bunnings Sunshine in Melbourne. Typically, more than 40,000 sausage sizzles are run by local community groups each year.