Box Divvy Cowan in Sydney, Australia | Grocers

Box Divvy Cowan

Locality: Sydney, Australia

Address: Fraser Road, Cowan 2081 Sydney, NSW, Australia

Website: http://www.boxdivvy.com/

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25.01.2022 Here to what to expect this week: Apples - Pink Lady Carrots - Loose (Orange) Corn - Loose... Eggplant - Continental Mangoes - R2E2 Plums - Black === SPLITS === Apples - Granny Smith Apricots Avocadoes - Hass Baby Spinach Bananas - Cavendish Blueberries (Regular) Broccoli - Regular Carrots - Dutch (Yellow/White) Cherries Coconut - Fresh Country Hi-Top German Rye 600G - Sliced Cucumber - Lebanese Gluten Free Coconut and Raspberry Bread - Unsliced Grapes - Red Seedless Herbs - Basil Hunter Valley Free-range eggs 600g Mangoes - Kensington Pride Mushrooms - Buttons Nectarines - White Nectarines - Yellow Passionfruit - Purple Potatoes (washed) - Nadine Potatoes (washed) - Red Desiree Shallots Snowpeas Sourdough Spelt Cherry Raisin 780g - Unsliced Sourdough White 780g - Sliced Sourdough Wholegrain 7-Grains 780g - Sliced Strawberries Tomatoes - Cherry Watermelon - Seedless (Small) Zucchini - Green Please drop your bags or boxes at Bels by 4.30PM, alternatively, you can drop them at my place by tonight. If you don't drop any bags or boxes, I will simply pack your goodies in boxes. Thank you x

25.01.2022 Here is what to expect this week: Apples - Granny Smith Celery Mushrooms - Buttons... Pineapple Pumpkin - Butternut SPLITS Apples - Pink Lady Asparagus - Loose Avocadoes - Hass Bananas - Cavendish Beans - Green Blueberries Carrots - Loose (Orange) Ciabatta sourdough Quinoa Soyabean 780g - Unsliced Country Hi-Top German Rye 600G - Sliced Cucumber - Lebanese Fig and Raisin Loaf 780g - Sliced Gluten Free Banana Bread - Unsliced Hunter Valley Free-range eggs 600g Lettuce - Baby Cos Mangoes - Kensington Pride Potatoes (washed) - Red Desiree Snowpeas Sourdough German Rye sunflower 780g - Sliced Strawberries Tomatoes - Cherry Zucchini - Green Zucchini Flowers PLUS -> last week's grocery orders. Bags or boxes to be dropped to me by tonight or Bels by 4.20pm today. Reusables are to be washed. No ice bricks needed for tomorrow - won't be that warm. Thank you kindly x

24.01.2022 No major price changes but we can’t find: Ginger fresh or cured for love nor money. We’re taking it off the product list, possibly for a few weeks until supply improves Ruby grapefruit: we think this may the end of the season, until March/April next year. ... So it’s off the list unless we come across a late flush See more

24.01.2022 FRUIT NEWS: Short & Sweet! Just like the Fruit on the market this week:... Kensington Pride mangoes have now dropped to $2.27 each. Give it another week and they’ll be below $2 Yet more Afourer mandarins, great eating and just $2/Kg Berries are excellent, whilst Watermelons will be a little sweeter and cheaper (under $1.50/Kg) Pineapples and pretty well ANY citrus are plentiful and sweet

24.01.2022 Lets talk VEG - coz there is a heap of beautiful produce at crazy prices. Too good not to look at: Beans and peas continue to be super-cheap, with snowpeas dropping to $6.80/kg local supply from Kim and Laks at Golden Fields. Of course, feel free to pay $18/Kg in supermarkets Golden Fields will have fresh, young broad beans next week and waayyy cheaper than they were last month: under $5/Kg... Golden Fields is also supplying us with Lebanese cucumber: expect to pay $2.60/kg. Only a month ago, you would have paid triple Simon Chong reports the lowest prices this season on: o Coriander: 91c a bunch. Please, help yourself o Baby buk choi: $1.13 a bunch. o English spinach: $1.36 a bunch. Both Field and Roma tomato supply has finally picked up, with prices dropping to just over $3/kg NOTE: Baby truss tomatoes are seriously short we don’t know if we will be able to fill all orders, so out of precaution, we’ve taken them off. As it is, Roma and Field tomatoes are the cheapest so far this year they would be better options to go for. With tomatoes now great value, why not make some bruschetta with basil, which is again under $3 a bunch Mushroom prices have also returned to normal and are now back under $11/kg Charlie Vella in Freemans Reach has good rhubarb numbers: expect around $3.40 a bunch. He’s also picking kale, silverbeet, zucchini flowers and hopefully soon: zucchini. Until then, zucchini will stay elevated at $5.75/kg Steve and Sam Grima continue picking Dutch carrots ($2 a bunch), fennel-with-frond ($1.25 each) and red radish ($1.59), great for a Spring salad Any lettuce is cheap. Pumpkins are cheap. Asparagus are cheap. Potatoes and onions are cheap, but this time of year, they will be showing some sprouting activity. Hey just look outside: everything is sprouting! If they didn’t, we could not grow any new season crop. Just remove any sprouting specimen, and you should still have the numbers. What is not cheap?? The only expensive vegetables now are cherry and grape tomatoes, baby truss, leek, corn (somewhat), and zucchini (not for long).

23.01.2022 Veg News: Charlie Vella in Freemans Reach is picking cabbages. We know, they’re not as exciting as mangoes or cherriesuntil you turn them into coleslaw. Honestly, is there anything better than eating cold coleslaw on a hot day? And they’re full of antioxidants, help prevent cancer, reduce blood pressure, control blood sugar, lower cholesterol and lose weight because of its high fibre content. As if you needed all this superfluous information, anyway Speaking of antioxida...nts: you can’t go past broccoli and cauliflower if you really want to stock up on the healthy stuff. And right now, they are super cheap Kim and Laks grow Lebanese cucumbers (among many other vegetables). The problem is: the vines are loving this weather and keep growing cucumbers in ever bigger numbers. We’ve reduced the price to $1.86! As the supply of local garlic picks up, prices are dropping rapidly. We’re expecting white garlic from the Murray region next week. It is expected to sell for around $19/Kg. Meanwhile, imported garlic is coming to the end of their northern season so we’ve taken it off. Buk Choi: $1.16 BUNCH Heirloom Toms BACK: $8.46KG Corn: $1.89 cob Beans: $9.46KG

23.01.2022 Here is what to expect tomorrow: Apples - Pink Lady Bananas - Cavendish Broccoli - Regular... Capsicum - Red Carrots - Loose (Orange) Cucumber - Lebanese Lettuce - Baby Cos Tomatoes - Roma === SPLITS === Asparagus - Loose Avocadoes - Hass Bananas - Cavendish Blueberries Chia Rye Ciabatta sourdough 780g - Sliced Chinese Broccoli Ciabatta sourdough Quinoa Soyabean 780g - Unsliced Corn - Loose Country Hi-Top German Rye 600G - Sliced Gluten Free Coconut and Raspberry Bread - Unsliced Grapefruit - Ruby Herbs - Basil Herbs - Coriander Hunter Valley Free-range eggs 600g Kale - Tuscan Mangoes - Kensington Pride Onion - Brown Pears - Packham Pineapple Potatoes (washed) - Nadine Six Fruit Loaf 680G Sliced Snowpeas Sourdough Spelt Cherry Raisin 780g - Sliced Sourdough White 780g - Sliced Strawberries Sugarsnap Watermelon - Seedless (Small) Please drop bags, boxes, icebricks to my place tonight. Thank you x

22.01.2022 VEG News: Except for avocadoes, capsicums and zucchini, most vegetables are great value: Victorian asparagus are down to $1.45 a bunch, and crisp as chips. But healthier.... Lebanese cucumbers galore: they should be no more than $4.30/Kg next week, and are likely to drop below the $4-mark Beans, snow peas and sugarsnap pea prices continue to be near the season’s low Charlie Vella in Freemans Reach still can’t get over how grow-some this season is: he will be picking record quantities of celery ($1.81), cauliflowers ($2.34), kale, silverbeet and zucchini flowers. Give it another week and he’ll be picking zucchini as well The Grima’s in Horsley Park will be bringing in loads of Dutch carrots decent bunches for just $2 Simon Chong is predicting a big drop in shallot prices, from over $2 a bunch last week to $1.70 and probably lower over the coming week or so. Broccoli shoots - find under Broccoli regular. They are popping out all over the place so Gerard Saad in Wilberforce will be cutting these this week for $2.50/kg. Also, he will have green cabbages at half the price of supermarkets at $1.81 each.

20.01.2022 Fruit News: IMPORTANT TO MENTION: In fruit, the apple season is starting to run out of steam and it’s at this tail-end of the season that last year’s drought and bushfires will be felt most acutely.... Most growers have nothing left to pick, and only dribs and drabs left in the apple crates for packing. The reduced supply will see prices going up, so expect to pay between $4/kg and $5/kg over the coming few months until the start of the stone fruit season. Lets get on to good buys: We did manage to find some good value Granny Smith apples. However, as they can be hard to get across the line in a split, we’ve reduced the box size to 6kgs. In contrast with apples, the pear season is showing no sign of slowing down both Packhams and Nashi pears remain great value. Tropical fruit is a mixed bag: bananas and large pineapples are still cheap, but mangoes refuse to come down in price as quickly as we were hoping despite shipments out of Darwin almost doubling each week. Still, the real peak in supply is not until late October, so we’ll just wait in patience Oh and BTW: passionfruit is taking a break until November. It’s been a good run! Good strawberries will be a little dearer expect to pay around $2.25 a punnet but they’re still QLD and still excellent Raspberries have come down in a hurry: they should be $4.76 a punnet and they’re very good eating Rockmelons will be scarce again next week they should be in the $3.50-$4 range. In case you’re wondering about watermelon: they’re still around $3.50/Kg and not the best, so we’re leaving them off for now Lastly, we mentioned stone fruit: reports from several growers both north of Sydney and in southern NSW suggest this is going to be a strong season in terms of picking volumes. On top of that, exports are expected to decline because of Covid-19 and high airfreight cost, so the domestic supply should be ample. This is not good news for growers who are trying to recover from last year’s bad season, but you can do your bit by buying A LOT of peaches and nectarines once the season gets on its way. Expect the first peaches and nectarines to appear by late October.

19.01.2022 NEWS FEATURE: Why do most diets fail? There are probably many reasons, but the main reason is that diets try to temporarily alter our behaviour by excluding or reducing certain foods (snacks, sugar, saturated fats), and introducing or increasing our consumption of other foods (kale, protein drinks, etc). We may succeed in our goal reducing weight but after we complete our diet, we return to our old habits. And regain most or all of the weight. Some of us go on never-en...ding cycles of starting and stopping diets, and many end up developing a strained and unhealthy relationship with food. Which is a pity, because food should be celebrated not demonised. We tend to have more success when we embrace a change in the foods we eat as a permanent lifestyle change. The CSIRO Mediterranean Diet is a good example: it simply suggests we should eat more fruit and vegetables, legumes, wholegrain, fish and seafood, some dairy mainly yoghurt -, and most of our fats as mono-unsaturated olive oil. It is naturally high in protein and low in (refined) carbohydrates. It doesn’t exclude anything, but suggests that red meat and alcohol can be part of it in moderation. The diet reflected the lifestyle of Greek and Italian peasants in the 1900’s: "It was a poor man's diet. There wasn't a lot of meat. There was a bit of fish because fish was more available but primarily they subsisted on plant foods and legumes as their main source of proteins, and fermented dairy foods like yoghurt," according to Professor Itsiopoulos, head of School of Allied Health and Professor of Nutrition at La Trobe University. Diabetes and heart disease among this population was almost non-existent. Rich or poor, anyone can adopt the Mediterranean lifestyle and with Box Divvy, anyone can afford the fresh produce that is at the core of it. Check it out

19.01.2022 Shepherds Fruit Mince Pies: only available for 3 weeks!!

17.01.2022 New Belicious product: Dukkah Chef Bel hasn’t sat on her hands these past months: a degree of social iso has actually given her the space to develop new products, including a delicious Dukkah. Dukkah is a mix of seeds, nuts, and spices originating in the middle east Egypt in particular. Like Hummus, it can be spelt 16 different ways, and pronounced in 236 different dialects! Who cares? There’s only one Belicious Dukkah, and it’s delicious.... Enjoy with your favourite bread, dipped in olive oil and balsamic. Use to create a crispy coating on fish or chicken Use to season eggs, add to salads and yogurts Ingredients: Roasted Sesame Seeds, Cashew, oregano, Sumac, Corn Flour, Vegetable oil, Cumin, Mustard Seed, Fennel Seed, Nigella Seed, Black cumin seed, Salt. You’ll find it in the same category as all other Belicious spice mixes. The 120g jar costs $10.

17.01.2022 UP Packham pears are approaching the end of the season: supply is tightening up and prices are on the rise. Expect to pay around $2.85/Kg DOWN... Hass avocadoes: this may be short-lived, but we’ll bank it anyway. They’ve come down to around $1.75 each Imported garlic: supply from Spain and Mexico is starting to normalise, and so are prices just over $12/Kg. Corn is scarce, and although they are good eating, this week’s supply will have some grub at the top so you might want a heads-up: cut off the top

17.01.2022 This week we have 15 suspensions. This means - it may be slightly trickier to get orders across. Up your household count to make sure you get a solid allocation in your starting order as we are going right back to basics this week.... You have until 9pm tonight to lock this in!

16.01.2022 NEWS FEATURE Although we’d love to see mangoes and cherries come down in price , there are nevertheless some dramatic price falls for other product lines this week: corn and beans fell by 60%-70% (and corn is now about 85-90c a cob), whilst there were smaller falls for truss tomatoes, rainbow carrots, passionfruit, cauliflowers, and others. Many of these are now looking very cheap

16.01.2022 Veg is looking phenomenal too: Asparagus will be around $1.80 a bunch Green beans should be no more than $2.70 a Kg JAP pumpkins at less than $1/Kg... Charlie Vella is going to town on: o Cauliflowers at $2.55 each o Iceberg lettuce just $1.25 a head o Medium-sized Wombok for $1.87 probably the last week before he’s taking a break: the new patch won’t be ready until October o Both silverbeet and green kale will be $1.47 a bunch Charlie and his grand-daughter Charlie still have more zucchini flowers than they know what to sensibly do with. Feedback from some members who have bought them a few times suggests that they don’t travel well once they’re out of the tray. So, to alleviate this issue, Charlie will be packing them 6-to-a-punnet. Whilst that means more plastic, it also means less food waste as the zucchini flowers will last much longer. He really wants you to try them out and is offering them at $3.40 a punnet. (My heart just skipped a beat !!!) Steve and Sam Grima will have fennel-with-frond for the next few weeks. They have a medium-sized bulb, and the long frond-like a peacock’s tail can be used for garnish or for pesto (the flavour is similar to dill). They’ll also have celeriac adds flavour to your potato mash. Use a 50/50 mix of potato and celeriac.

14.01.2022 Fruit NEWS: Kensington Pride mangoes are now starting to show up in good numbers and prices have dropped below $3/ea. We expect them to be $2.50 by the end of next week They keep bringing out more Afourer mandarins, in such volume that prices have dropped below $2/Kg. All citrus is going strong still, with lemons dropping back under $3/Kg... Apple prices have eased back a bit, especially Pink Lady. We suspect last week’s price hike didn’t travel so well and with so many other fruit options around, the growers have wisened up. Berries just keep going: strawberries (from WA this week) will be around $2 punnet and blueberries around $3. Oh, and don’t forget those raspberries: just $4.76 a punnet and the quality is superb! Watermelons are back! They’re small well, around 3-4kg each so they’ll fit in your fridge once you halve them, and they’re just $1.65/Kg Beure Bosc pears are out until next year, so the only pears left are Packham, Nashi (probably 1 more week), and Corella

14.01.2022 PRICE CHANGES: Passionfruit is arriving in big numbers don’t pay more than 50c each Cherries are getting better and cheaper each day: down to $13.60/Kg, and the quality is excellent... Cauliflowers are down to $2.18 each Corn is starting to come back to earth: $1.46 a cob Ditto for green beans: $6.80/Kg Eggplant is loving the warmer weather: expect to pay around $3.90/Kg Last but not least, zucchini is now at glut levels, and farmers are begging us to take them. So do your ‘patriotic’ thing and go big on zucs at (wait for it)$1.72/Kg. The quality is glamour! Keep your eyes peeled for some yum recipes to follow!

13.01.2022 APPLES - Did You Know? Two varieties are named the healthiest in the world to help prevent cancer. According to a study by Edit Cowan University in WA, Pink Lady and Bravo are the 2 apple varieties among the 90 varieties studied with the highest polyphenol content.... Polyphenol are natural compounds linked to a reduced risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Importantly, 50% of the polyphenols are contained in the skin so give them a wash and eat them au naturel!

13.01.2022 Tomato goodness this week!

10.01.2022 NEWSFLASH: Blueberries will be cheaper again next week: expect to pay no more than $2.95, and possibly less

09.01.2022 Here is what to expect this week: Apples - Fuji Eggplant - Continental Lettuce - Iceberg... Orange - Navel Pears - Packham === SPLITS === Almond - Natural Almond - Roasted Salted Apples - Pink Lady Asparagus - Loose Avocadoes - Hass Baby Spinach Bananas - Cavendish Beans - Green Blueberries Broccoli - Regular Buk Choi (Baby) Carrots - Dutch (Orange) Carrots - Loose (Orange) Cashew - Roasted Salted Cashew - Roasted Unsalted Ciabatta sourdough Quinoa Soyabean 780g - Unsliced Country Hi-Top German Rye 600G - Sliced Cucumber - Lebanese Ginger Gluten Free Coconut and Raspberry Bread - Unsliced Grapefruit - Ruby Herbs - Basil Hunter Valley Free-range eggs 600g Mandarins - Afourer Mangoes - Kensington Pride Mixed Nuts - Raw Unsalted Orange - Navel Pasta - Balducci Spaghetti No.4 Peanut - Roasted Salted Pears - Nashi Potatoes (washed) - Nadine Rice - Sunrice Basmati Rice - Sunrice Medium Brown Rockmelons Snowpeas Sourdough Spelt Cherry Raisin 780g - Sliced Sourdough Spelt Cherry Raisin 780g - Unsliced Sourdough White Crusty Italian 780g - Sliced Sourdough Wholegrain 7-Grains 780g - Unsliced Strawberries Sultanas - Australia Tomatoes - Cherry Zucchini Flowers Note: Tomorrow will be 28 degrees (yikes!) - I only have space for one ice brick per family, if you so choose to provide. Please drop bags/boxes/bricks by tonight at my place or Bels by 4.20pm. REMEMBER: Grocery orders will arrive next week. Thank you!

08.01.2022 UP Blueberries are up to $3.40 a punnet Zucchini prices are now around $3.70/Kg... Ginger supply continues to be impacted by the effects from last season’s drought, with new season supply not coming through until February next year. Expect to pay around $33/Kg (or $45 in the supermarket) DOWN Lemons are still cheap, and even cheaper this week down to under $2.40/kg. The season won’t have long to run before they’ll double in price, usually around November so get some whilst the going is good Navel oranges are down to $1.36/kg. Like lemons, they’ll finish soon-ish with Valencias taking over the baton Just as you thought that green beans could not get any cheaper, they just have: $2.37/kg

08.01.2022 Fruit News: Yesterday we reported White Menindee Grapes were available and now Red Crimson are available as well. Under $10/Kg. That was the good news. ... The bad news is that KP mangoes in all likelihood will be more expensive than we’d hoped: most suppliers expect them to be close to $3 each, so we’ve adjusted the price accordingly. However, we also came across some lovely R2E2 mangoes at a much better price (around $2.25 each). So we’re offering both. The one thing to keep in mind with R2E2’s: they must be absolutely ripe before eating. Colour is not always a good guide (they often have a slight green tinge), touch is better: they must have some ‘give’ before eating. If they’re still firm, leave them in a warm spot for a few days. OK, peaches got smashed alright up in Queensland, and other growing regions like Maroota, Canoelands, and southern NSW won’t start in earnest for another few weeks so gorge yourself on nectarines at under $4/Kg. Or new season plums, aptly named Earliqueens. They’re early indeed, and whilst as a rule, we don’t touch plums until close to Christmas, we do make exceptions from time to time and this Earliqueen is worth it. Sprinkle some lime juice over freshly cut papaya: it will completely transform its flavour (but make sure the papaya is at room temperature).

08.01.2022 FRUITY NEWS! Whilst Blueberries have temporarily tightened up, try some delicious Blackberries instead. Surprisingly sweet! Meanwhile, our regular strawberry grower near Monbulk in Vic is taking a break in between patches which gives us a chance to try out some of the more premium berries. ... They’re extra-large, super-sweet, and should be around $3.40 per punnet. Depending on the feedback, we may continue with this more premium fruit even after the regular berries have returned. Let us know what you think Can you get a bigger Flavour Bomb than lychees?? They’re only just starting, but they pack a punch. Still $23/Kg, but they will drop in the lead-up to Christmas.

08.01.2022 VEG NEWS - CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP Beans, peas, cucumbers, spinach, herbs, Asian greens, lettuce, pumpkins, tomatoes: the list of incredibly well-supplied produce is as long as our arm. Did we mention cheap? Charlie Vella from Freemans Reach is coming to the party with:... o Great-quality zucchini now $4.87/Kg, and on its way down over the next few weeks. Raymond Camilleri, who grows his zucchini in Castlereagh, will start picking in a few weeks’ time o Charlie also has masses of rhubarb: a typical Spring vegetable that will peak over the next 4 weeks. You can pick up a bunch for under $3 a bunch. (They’re still $5.50-$6 in supermarkets). Chop up some rhubarb and cook (minimal water) with strawberries, blueberries and some sugar for 10-15 minutes until the rhubarb starts threading. Serve over Greek yoghurt. Steve and Sam Grima in Horsley Park are starting another patch of Rainbow Chard: the colours a beautiful and the stem can be sauteed for 5 minutes in some olive oil and garlic (try adding some oyster sauce or fish sauce) before adding the shredded leaves. Just $2.27 a bunch How about some sweet and crunchy snow peas from Kim and Laks Ung from Golden Fields in Kemps Creek? At just $6.80/Kg, they are literally 60-70% cheaper than the limp peas you’ll find in the supermarkets: Woolies is at $16.90/Kg and Coles is $18. Go figure BTW: if you haven’t tried their sweet young broad beans yet, now is as good a time as ever: under $5/kg, and fresh as anything. Pop ‘m out of the pod and straight into your mouth don’t bother peeling

05.01.2022 HQ NEWS #1 Over the past few years, apple growers have been trying to breath some new life into apple consumption in Australia as well as overseas export markets. Thinking that we might be getting a little tired of the same old varieties Pink Lady, Granny Smith, Fuji, Gala they’re inventing an orchard worth of new varieties: Jazz, Bravo, Kanzi, Smitten.... And Modi. You’d be forgiven for thinking that this apple which we tasted this week: very crisp and very sweet, we like it a lot! And amazingly (thanks to a cancelled export order), it’s one of the best-value apples on offer right now, at just over $3/Kg. We think we’ve secured enough supply for this week, but we’re not sure after this lot so you may as well dig in whilst they’re available.

04.01.2022 PRICE CHANGES: DOWN Mangoes! Now down to $3.40 each, and we suspect it’ll go down a little more later this week... Afourer mandarins are having a late flush, with prices well below $3/Kg Lebanese cucumbers are enjoying the warmer weather they’re down to $3.29/Kg today. We won’t predict what might happen, as the weather is taking a cooler turn from Thursday onwards and cucumbers are sensitive to changes in temperature Red capsicums have come down from the lofty heights reached last Friday, thanks to improved supply from South Australia. Still $5.44 per Kg Basil is back to normal well, at least for now: $3.40 a bunch. No predictions here UP Ginger keeps creeping up now over $35/Kg. As we’ve said earlier, we don’t really expect much change until after Christmas at the earliest Zucchini prices are holding strong, with QLD supply dropping away and local supply still piecemeal. Expect to pay $5.50-$6 per Kg for another week before prices come down.

04.01.2022 HQ NEWS Australians are used to having food in abundance: shops, farmers markets, delivery services, Box Divvy there is no shortage in food options. Not only is Australia as a nation self-sufficient, we export 65% of all our food which makes us just one of about a dozen countries in the world who are self-sufficient. It’s easy to take this for granted, but all it takes are some natural (or man-made) disasters to change the equation. To illustrate, consider two reports ...from the some of the wealthiest countries in the world: Last week, some 10,000 cars queued up at a Foodbank in San Antonio, Texas for a 50kg food parcel. Half the people who queued did so for the first time a continued fall-out from the COVID crisis that has caused 20 million Americans to lose their jobs, and 250,000 to lose their lives. These scenes are repeated at hundreds of Foodbanks across the USA. Meanwhile, the Brexit deadline is looming in the UK, and there is growing concern of food shortages that could last weeks or even months, according to The Guardian. The UK relies on Europe for much of its fresh food, and there is a growing risk of delays at the border not so good for perishable food. Coupled with very little spare warehouse capacity, it is feasible that food prices will rise sharply and leave many Britons going hungry at a time (the middle of winter) when virtually no fresh produce is picked locally. Drought, floods, bushfires, climate change, pandemics, you name it: all of these factors can impact on our food supply, which is why Box Divvy has adopted a diversification strategy: at the same time as we help local growers to become more resilient, we are expanding the amount of produce we can source from backyard growers across the Sydney suburbs. Mums, dads, kids, community gardens and schools are starting to recognise the risk, and expanding their food production. Please check out the Backyard Growers Box Divvy Facebook page, managed by Jaq our Freeranger in Panania. If you want to get involved and start supplying your produce to local Box Divvy hubs, please touch base with Jaq.

04.01.2022 FRUITY GOODNESS THIS WEEK - IM EXCITED (can you tell?) Rockmelons for under $2 each Ruby grapefruit this incredible source of vitamin C for around 70c each, or under $2/kg... Packham pears for just over $2/kg Berries galore, with strawberries enjoying one of the longest Qld seasons on the record because of the continued mild weather in Caboolture and Bundaberg Strawberries are expected to stay under $2 a punnet, and blueberries under $3 a punnet Passionfruit will continue a little longer but will remain pricey as are mangoes for the next 2 weeks. The forecast supply should still see mangoes selling between $1.50 and $2 each by the end of this month (Bring it on!!!!!)

02.01.2022 Valencia Oranges: Valencia oranges were created in (get this) California, US back in the 1800’s. OK, so not really in Valencia. The original grower called them Valencias in honour of the fact that Spain at the time was the centre of the citrus world. Nowadays most Valencias are grown in Florida and Australia! Most citrus matures over autumn and winter, but Valencias are the only citrus variety grown over summer. ... When they get a lot of sun, their skin develops a green hue by way of sunscreen protection that makes them appear unripe but in fact, the greener they are, the more sun they’ve had and the sweeter they’ll be. Valencias have an unfair reputation as ‘juicing oranges’. The reason is that their juice keeps better than Navel juice which gets a little bitter over time. But the fact they produce better orange juice doesn’t mean they’re not great to eat as a hand orange! And to give you one more reason: they’ve just come down to $1.53/Kg. At that price, you can juice them and have ‘m too!