How Good & Fugly Helps Farmers And Growers
Life for farmers and growers is anything but a walk in the park. The past few years have seen Mother Nature unleash her wild side, dishing out floods and fires, both of which have devastated farms across the nation.
And now, the Bureau of Meteorology has sounded the alarm with an El Niño climate pattern looming, promising even more weather extremes.
Adding to the battle with the elements, farmers also have to contend with the relentless surge in commodity prices and interest rates. These economic factors are making the farm-to-table journey increasingly costly. According to the ACCC, the current market is playing a game of winners and losers, with supermarkets raking in hefty profits while suppliers and farmers watch their gains plummet.
A recent survey from the NSW Farmers Association echoes this grim reality, revealing that 64% of farmers have seen their business conditions worsen in the past year. Likewise, the meat and Livestock Australia’s Eastern Young Cattle Indicator paints a grim picture, indicating that fruit and veg producers are now pocketing a meager $5.61 per kilogram as of late June, a mere shadow of the $10.92 per kilogram they were making on average in September the previous year. With all this on the table, supporting Aussie farmers has never been more vital.
Enter Good & Fugly, born from the realisation that despite farmers' relentless toil and their Herculean efforts to overcome environmental and economic hardships, a significant chunk of their produce meets an unfortunate end in landfills. The culprit? Supermarkets' superficial cosmetic standards, which result in up to 25% of edible, but "imperfect" produce being left to rot on the farm. Good & Fugly steps in to rescue these forsaken fruits and vegetables, packaging them into convenient boxes.
And in doing so, farmers directly and materially benefit.
Our team stays in regular contact with our network of farmers, keeping tabs on what's in season, what's available, and most crucially, what has been rejected by major supermarkets and needs a lifeline. We purchase this produce at a fair price and ensure it reaches our warehouses to be lovingly packed into your boxes. This means that you can be sure that the fruit and veggies in a Good And Fugly box come straight from the hands of farmers, often plucked just the day before it finds its way to your doorstep.
Being able to sell more of what they produce empowers farmers, while also curbing the wastage of precious natural resources. It’s a literal quarter of water, sunlight, time, and energy saved.
Good & Fugly casts a wide safety net for farmers to help them sell more of their harvest. We've set up a hotline that farmers can ring when they're left with surplus produce that the big supermarkets reject. Rather than tossing their unwanted fruits and veggies, growers can dial 13-000-FUGLY to get in touch with the Good & Fugly team, ensuring their efforts and resources don't go to waste.
So, when you savour a helping of fugly, be confident that you're not just enjoying delicious produce. You're also doing your bit to keep Aussie farmers on their feet, supporting their livelihoods and curbing waste.
Join us in rallying behind our farmers! Australia wouldn’t be the incredible place to live if we didn’t have so many farmers working so hard to fill our pantries!
