Every year, a mammoth 37 million kilograms of bananas are considered sub-standard by supermarkets and go to waste on Queensland farms – meaning they never actually leave the farm. This waste equates to a whopping 92.5 million kilograms of C02 emissions, while also putting unnecessary strain on the environment, farmers and fellow Australians. 

Since 2020 Farmers Pick has been working hard with local farmers to rescue their “imperfect” produce and to educate our nation that if a piece of fruit isn’t a “normal” size or shape it is perfectly great to eat and even more fun to use in the kitchen.

When Farmers Pick learned that the supermarkets reject single bananas, they had to do everything they could to raise awareness across the nation.

After hearing this terrifying, mind-blowing stat, Nodo Donuts and Farmers Pick have joined forces to host their own “QLD Banana Rescue” by launching October’s flavour of the month, “Banoffee Donut.”

Founder of Nodo, Kate Williams, passionate about sustainability and reducing food waste, is steering the collaboration with Farmers Pick in order to help save single bananas from going to waste on the farm.

“I love everything Farmers Pick stands for and I couldn’t believe it when I first heard about this – its a huge amount of waste and not to mention the impact it has on the environment and of course the farmers,” Williams said.

“I want to raise as much awareness as possible about these current business practices that are harming the environment and essentially costing farmers and Aussie consumers money.”

“I am always looking at ways to reduce waste within our business and raise awareness around sustainability. It’s something I am very passionate about and you can see throughout all of our stores – the next time you pick up a donut in a box, be sure to throw it in the compost rather than the bin! Some of our packaging is 100% compostable!”

“This collaboration was an absolute no-brainer for me and I am excited for you all to try October’s flavour of the month. There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of these bananas, the fruit itself is in perfect condition, they’ve just gone walk-about from the rest of the bunch.”

“This year, a banana farmer in QLD has asked us for help as he too is facing excessive rejections by supermarkets. The supermarket’s biggest reason for rejecting bananas is because they’re not in a bunch. When a bunch is picked, it naturally has a few bananas that sit off to the side, and these are trimmed in the harvesting process, to get the perfect bunch as defined by supermarkets.” states Josh from Farmers Pick.

Whether they are simply not attached to a bunch, too straight, too bendy, our farmer will continue to have huge numbers of his crop rejected, ending in an ongoing financial and environmental strain, both of which are completely avoidable.”

Major supermarkets only purchase 70 per cent of Australian bananas and the remaining 30% are rejected because they are trimmed to meet their perfect standards, or considered “the wrong size”, an “imperfect” shape, or not the “right” shade of yellow.

Launching on October 1, Nodo x Farmers Pick “Banoffee Donut” will help combat the cost and impact of this waste. Here are the stats:

• Every donut that uses a Farmers Pick banana, will save 295gm of emissions 
• Directly supports local farmers
• Raises awareness about “rejected single bananas”

The Banoffee Donut will be available in all Nodo stores from 1st October and available to pre-order online at nododonuts.com