The Ugly Truth
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30% (2.4 billion kgs) of produce never leaves the farm every year.
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Fruits and veggies often end up in waste because they don't meet supermarkets' unrealistic beauty standards.
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Annually, retailers throw away 500,000 tonnes of perfectly good food months before the ‘best before’ date.
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Food waste is the 3rd biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, behind the US and China.
Too Small. Too Big. Too Wonky.
The Truth About Supermarkets' Beauty Standards
Fruits and veggies don't always look like the ones you find in supermarkets.
Many grow in different shapes and sizes, and some may have minor blemishes or marks from natural events such as hail storms that are beyond farmers' control. Regardless, they taste perfectly fine!
But that’s not good enough for supermarkets.
Supermarkets apply strict specifications and unrealistic beauty standards to fruits and veggies. For instance almost 50% of citrus gets rejected for not meeting size criteria or having minor blemishes.
Why Should We Care?
When food goes to waste, it results in financial and environmental loss for everyone.
Harvesting fruits and veggies is labour-intensive. When supermarkets reject produce, farmers are forced to bear the production costs alone. It's not uncommon for farmers to go bankrupt after multiple rejections. In fact, family farms have been disappearing in Australia. The Guardian predicts that only corporate farms will remain in 10 years.*
For consumers, this means paying more for fresh produce, leading to poorer diets. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), only 4% of Australians met the recommendations for both fruit and veggie consumption in 2022 due to rising living costs, including groceries.*
Food waste also leads to environmental damage. It contributes 8.5% of Australia’s total greenhouse emissions, surpassing the combined emissions from flying, plastic production, and oil extraction.* Moreover, growing food that ends up in landfill consumes roughly 2,600 gigalitres of water, enough to fill five Sydney Harbours.*
How Farmers Pick is Fixing the Problem
We are Josh and Josh, and we have a plan to fight this problem!
We learned all these horrible facts after noticing the difference between produce bought fresh from our local markets and supermarkets. So, we decided to do something about it!
Our plan? Build a more sustainable and affordable food system. One that champions local farmers, embraces perfectly imperfect but delicious food, and is filled with people who share the same passion with us.
That’s how Farmers Pick was born!
Farmers Pick works directly with farmers and producers to rescue and purchase fruits and veggies that would otherwise go to waste or lesser outcomes due to supermarkets' unrealistic beauty standards. We then deliver them directly to our subscribers for up to 30% less than the big supermarkets.
Now, Farmers Pick has a network of 50+ producers, 20,000 active subscribers, and 40 passionate staff working hard to rescue produce from all over Australia. Most importantly, we have saved over 3 million kilos of produce!
Why Farmers Pick?
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We rescue perfectly imperfect produce rejected by supermarkets due to their unrealistic beauty standards.
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Our boxes are up to 30% cheaper than supermarkets.
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You can shop over 60 pantry essential items and bargain buys to add to your produce box.
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Fresh produce delivered directly to your doorstep with no lock-in subscription.
More Than Just Fruits & Veggies
Farmers Pick Pantry and Bargain Buys
Hate to break it to you, but the food waste problem doesn’t stop with fruits and veggies.
Supermarkets and other retailers impose strict 'best before' label restrictions, leading to nearly 500,000 tonnes of perfectly good packaged food being wasted. 'Best before' labels indicate quality, not safety. Food past its best before date may still be safe to consume if sealed and stored properly. Retailers, however, favour best before labels because they encourage higher turnover.*
So, Farmers Pick decided to step in. We go to manufacturers and purchase food items that would otherwise be rejected by supermarkets due to best before label restrictions. We then sell these items at affordable prices (up to 60% off RRP!) for our subscribers. This way, we help reduce food waste, and you get popular items at more affordable prices!
We also launched Farmers Pick Pantry, filled with essential pantry items that you can add to your Farmers Pick box and have delivered right to your doorstep.
What About Our Own Food Waste?
Thanks to our awesome partners, we've managed to reduce and repurpose 100% of our waste!
We recognise that food waste is an inevitable part of our business. However, we strive to minimise it by partnering with OzHarvest and local farmers.
We donate surplus fruits and veggies, including those that are ripened and won't travel well, to OzHarvest. As the leading food rescue organisation, they transform food waste into meals for people in need. Since partnering with them, we've donated over 82,700 kilos of produce, equating to 165,500 meals.
For produce that is not safe for human consumption, we deliver it to a nearby pig farm, ensuring nothing goes to waste.
Ready to join tens of thousands of Australians making a difference while enjoying delicious fruits and veggies?
Our Community
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50+ Farms -
3 Million Kilos of Fruits & Veggies Saved -
20,000 Happy Customers -
82,700 Kilos of produce donated to Ozharvest
