How We Are Working Towards Zero Waste

Each year, an estimated one-third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted worldwide (Source). Countries like France have taken a punitive approach to eliminating food waste, passing laws that make food waste illegal and requiring many outlets like grocery stores or food distributors to evaluate their operating procedures. In Texas, Farmhouse Delivery is doing its part to avoid general waste, from the farm to your doorstep.

We take extensive steps to avoid a surplus of produce but there are many factors at play when it comes to food waste. Factors such as unpredictable weather requiring a faster-than-anticipated harvest or an infestation of pests could result in products that are not suitable for retail. Our team works tirelessly to avoid ‘leftover’ or ‘extra’ produce, but in some cases, it is simply unavoidable.

Excessive and wasteful packaging may come to mind when considering a meal or grocery delivery service. However, Farmhouse Delivery makes a point to eliminate waste whenever possible using sustainable practices, from production to delivery. For example, all deliveries are packed in reusable packaging (our durable bins and soft-sided bags) and our line of Farmhouse Kitchen sauces, stocks, and dressings are made from surplus ingredients.


Using Up Seconds

Our executive chef Matt Taylor incorporates “imperfect” produce into meals with pickling, dehydrating, or juicing. In Farmhouse Delivery’s Meal Kit production, food waste is reduced by incorporating surplus produce into dishes. Our team of cooks reinvents surplus or blemished produce in as many ways as possible. Our stocks and sauces are all made from such produce, creating flavorful and waste-free dishes to enhance your meals at home.

Shop Now: Explore all Farmhouse Kitchen


What is ‘imperfect’ produce?

Fruits and vegetables sometimes become slightly bruised or blemished in transit (also referred to as ‘seconds’), but these imperfections do not affect taste and quality. Keep your eye on the What’s New page for discounted produce items that may show such imperfections.


Donations

When we have seconds, we donate this surplus produce to local food banks and kitchens. Most of our extras go to the Central Texas Food Bank and Keep Austin Fed. Have a charitable need for seconds? We’d love to help. Contact info@farmhousedelivery.com to get connected with our warehouse managers.


Packaging

All Farmhouse deliveries are packed with reusable and compostable materials (bins, water bottles, and packaging) to reduce waste. Almost all of the packaging that we deliver can be reused in some way. Plastic containers used to store meal kit sauces, dressings, and stocks are commercially compostable (not compostable in your backyard compost pile) but we recommend rinsing the containers out with water and placing them in your recycling bin. Help us avoid purchasing more bins and soft-sided coolers by putting last week’s bins and bags out for pickup on your delivery day.


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