SAVING PRECIOUS FOOD FROM LANDFILL

Farmers Pick was launched in 2020 after two mates looked into the appalling farm food waste in Australia. They are now on a mission to rescue fresh food from landfill and

One day, while Josh Ball and Josh Brooks-Duncan were at their local market, they questioned why some of the vegetables were marked as ‘bendy’ and were not perfect looking.

This simple yet life-changing experience set them on a mission to better understand the farm food industry, and they were deeply disturbed by the under-reported issue of national food wastage that not only affects the livelihoods of farmers across the country, but Australian consumers as well.

They soon discovered that the unrealistic cosmetic standards upheld by the major supermarkets means a whopping 30 per cent of ‘perfectly imperfect’ produce never leaves the farm. It's simply left to rot.

They also quickly learnt that food waste costs Australians $36.6 billion a year, and households up to $2,500 every year. Over 30 per cent (2.4 billion kilograms) of food never leaves the farm, meaning a third of food produced on farm does not make it to the consumer.

And so, Farmer’s Pick was launched a few months later with the goal of rescuing wasted produce and supplying it directly to Australians at a cheaper rate than supermarkets.

“The driving force behind Farmers Pick is the desire to achieve a sustainable positive impact on the food industry, which is the largest contributor to emissions in Australia and across the world,” says Josh Ball.

Farmers Pick takes the fruit and vegetables that are considered too ugly for sale in the major supermarkets and sells it directly to Australians via its subscription delivery service for up to 30 per cent less than supermarket prices.

So far, over 1,000,000 kilograms of food across more than 50 farms has been saved thanks to the team at Farmers Pick, meaning Australian families are being fed fresh produce that would otherwise go straight into landfill. Furthermore, through Farmers Pick’s partnership with OzHarvest, over 75,000 meals have been donated to Australians in need.

“Australian farmers’ lives are only made more difficult during these challenging times,” says Josh BrooksDuncan. “They are working in high-pressure environments to ensure that produce can still look perfect while stressing about the health of their crops and properties for future seasons as extreme weather wreaks havoc on soils.

“More than ever, Australians –across the supply and consumer chain – need to support the government’s goal to halve food waste by 2030, which is also aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal.”

Josh and Josh believe that there is no better time to support, encourage and drive food waste programs and policies. Everyone can do their bit by eating well and saving money.