Australian sustainable grocery subscription service Farmers Pick will be delivering its fruit and vegetable boxes to over 1.5 million households from the Gold Coast up to Bundaberg in Queensland from 25 August.
With the expansion, Queenslanders will now be able to get a variety of affordable fresh produce and pantry staples delivered to their doorstep. Alongside fruit and vegetable boxes, Queenslanders will also be able to access The Farmers Pick Pantry offering which features preserves, alternative milk, and spreads such as peanut butter.
Farmers Pick has been combating food waste in Australia by rescuing produce that doesn’t meet supermarkets’ ‘beauty’ standards and offering them to households for up to 30 per cent less than supermarket prices.
Since its inception in 2020, the business has successfully rescued more than 1,500,000 kilograms of perfectly good produce, a large portion of which has been saved from farms in Queensland’s agricutural heartlands such as The Lockyer Valley and Bowen.
Farmer’s Pick co-founder Josh Ball shared that the expansion is a step towards nationwide expansion.
“Our expansion into Queensland is a huge milestone for the business and a goal we have always wanted to achieve,” Ball said. “With food waste costing Australians $36.6 billion per annum, we believe that everyone across the country is deserving of convenient and simple solutions to make a difference. We are thrilled to now be able to make a difference to Queenslanders, bringing us one step closer to our mission of building a sustainable food system for all.”
As grocery prices are increasing throughout Queensland, the expansion into the state is also a big win for consumers, co-founder Josh Brooks-Duncan commented.
“Over 30 per cent of food never leaves the farm,” Brooks-Duncan said. “If a fruit or vegetable has a small mark or is ‘non-standard’ in shape or size, they are rejected by major supermarkets. Excessive food wastage means that farmers are less profitable and the cost of fresh produce skyrockets for households.
“By working with farmers to save fruit and vegetables that would be otherwise wasted, Farmers Pick helps save consumers up to 30 per cent on their grocery shop each week, a much-appreciated saving at a time when food prices are soaring,” Brooks-Duncan concluded.
