Our Story
We want to help empower you make the best food choices for you, your family, our community and the planet.
We took over the Empower Wholefoods store in 2022 with a vision to create a local one-stop-shop with everything you need to feed yourself and your family nutritious, certified organic and pesticide free foods and to live a more healthy and sustainable life.
Good quality, organic and sustainable food is important to us and our family. It was hard to find when we first moved here, so we decided to be part of the solution.
There are few things more important for a happy and healthy life than nutritious food. It is our medicine, it nourishes us and those we care about. It brings us together, at the cafe table, the dinner table and within our community.
But we want to do more than just source and sell the best quality certified organic and pesticide free food and sustainable, low tox, and low waste lifestyle products.
We want Empower Wholefoods to be a place where our community comes together to share knowledge about why making good food choices makes a positive difference to the health and wellbeing of each of us, our families, our community and the planet.
About Us
Melissa Field
I'm many things... Mum, Yoga Teacher, Rest Guide, Women's Circle Facilitator, Health Coach and co-owner of Empower Wholefoods. I'm also the founder of The Nook in Ulladulla, a space dedicated to helping people move, rest and reconnect.
While my work has evolved over the years, one thing has remained the same: I love bringing people together. Whether it's around a yoga mat, a women's circle, a retreat or a shared meal, I believe community is one of the most powerful forms of medicine. I often describe myself as a Community Weaver.
A few fun facts about me:
- I was vegetarian for 20 years, from the age of 17.
- I reintroduced animal products after my naturopath discovered I was nutritionally deficient, and it completely changed the way I think about food.
- Two early pregnancy losses sparked my low-tox journey and ignited my passion for sourcing products I genuinely trust for our shelves at Empower.
- Before opening The Nook, I owned Yoganic, a yoga and pilates studio on Sydney's North Shore, for nine years before moving to the South Coast in 2018.
- I've been teaching yoga for more than 24 years and still believe rest is one of the most underrated health practices there is.
I like my coffee straight up... just like me. I say it how it is. A ¾ long black, please.
You can find out more about The Nook HERE
Justin Field
Before taking over Empower Wholefoods, Justin was a NSW state politician with a side passion for making bone broths, kombucha and fermented veg from scratch. Justin’s political career focussed on environmental and natural resource management issues. He has a deep understanding of the destructive impact of many types of traditional agriculture on the natural environment but also the potential for regenerative approaches to be part of healing the country and producing better quality food. Justin is keen to bring together his political knowledge and passion for making food to the business.
When not in the kitchen at Empower Justin training for ironman triathlons, surfing and playing in his veggie garden.
Justin's coffee is a little complex...just like him: Bullet Proof Coffee. If you're unfamiliar with this it's 2 shots of coffee, MCT oil, ghee and medicinal mushrooms.
He is excited to share his love of Bullet Proof coffee with our community and no doubt will try and turn you too!