FAQ’s

How does Food Connect Adelaide work?

Our customers (subscribers) will pay an up-front subscription to Food Connect for a minimum of 4 weeks. You can elect to recieve you 4 week subscription every week or alternate weeks. Its up to you. We offer a choice of produce boxes eg; small, medium and large mixed fruit and vege and in the future fruit or vege only boxes which will be delivered weekly. This ‘subscription’ enables us to offer farmers a stable and fair price for their produce and to minimize waste.

Produce will be packed into boxes and distributed to subscribers via City Cousins. City Cousins are people or businesses who offer their home/business as a place from where our local subscribers can collect their food. This means that we don’t waste valuable fuel delivering to each individual home and also helps city people to connect again with each other and their food.

Will my produce always be organic?

Where we find organic farmers who wish to supply us, it will be organic but we can’t guarantee all produce will be organic. Organic and smaller scale farmers utilising sustainable production methods are encouraged to produce for the Food Connect system. Local and organic is an ideal outcome that we works towards and encourage. Food Connect believes that the best way to achieve sustainable farming systems is to firstly encourage local food consumption; preserving the local agricultural landscape, keeping farmers in the community, and ensuring energy conservation, however all Food COnnect farmers are encouraged and supported to transition. Providing organic or chemical free produce is an important goal. Food Connect Brisbane has shown that after time, farmers who have been providing produce to Food Connect are encouraged and supported to change to more organic or chemical free farming practices. By subscribing to Food Connect Adelaide, you will be providing tangible support for farmers to have confidence in the growth and development of our local, organic and in-transition farming community.

Can I choose what produce goes in my Food Connect box?

Initially, Food Connect Adelaide will be packing and delivering boxes of selected, seasonal, local and organic produce to your City Cousin.  You can choose from small, medium or family size boxes in combinations of boxes of fruit only, veg only or mixed fruit and veg. Providing subscribers with a food connect system which can be responsive to individual needs for fruit and veg and other food stuffs is a part of our long term goal. Currently, logistics and resources determine that set produce in a box of predominantly organic fruit and veg is what we can offer. We are working on developing a dynamic online ordering system which can respond immediately to your and your families fruit and veg preferences so you can pick and choose accordingly.

How many people does a box feed?

‘Average’  Food Connect subscribers are difficult to find!  We have worked hard on our boxes and have set box sizes as catering to the following needs.

Small predominantly organic box – feeds approximately 1-2 people

Medium predominantly organic box – feeds approximately 2-3 people

Family predominantly organic box – feeds approximately 4-5 people

Boxes vary according to weight. Variety of produce within the boxes is relatively similar. Smaller boxes have smaller quantities not less variety but we have tried to ensure that you have enough of the ‘core’ vegetables and fruit that make up a ‘normal’ Aussie diet.

What if I go away on holidays?

No problems at all, just let us know and we’ll put your subscription on hold until you get back.

Can I order fortnightly?

Yes, you can order fortnightly, or any other timeframe, simply by logging in and adjusting your delivery schedule. The only criteria is you subscribe for a minimum of 4 boxes.

What if I have fewer or more people at home sometimes?

Easy! Just get in touch and change your box size to suit the number of people you are feeding. If you go up a box size you may need to pay a little more to cover the additional cost.

Is Food Connect Adelaide a CSA?

Yes! There are many forms of CSA and Food Connect Adelaide offers another option to farmers.

By providing those marketing, sales and communications services and by distributing farmers’ produce in metropolitan areas, Food Connect makes participation in the CSA model more viable for regional farmers. Food Connect also sources its produce from a number of farmers rather than a single farm. This provides security of supply as well as the opportunity to source a wider range of farm produce.

Besides not all farmers want to have to travel to farmers markets and work on weekends!

What is a social enterprise?

There are no strict definitions of a social enterprise in Australia, but most agree that a social enterprise is an organisation that trades to achieve social (and environmental) outcomes.
In Australia somebody wanting to establish an organisation that wants to have “good” social and environmental objectives would typically set up a not-for-profit. This model usually relies on grant funding or donations. The disadvantage of this model is that often the organisation needs to spend a lot of time (and donated money) chasing more funding, and if the funding runs out, then the good works stop.
A company has the advantage that it is designed to be self-sustaining on its sales and can keep on doing what it does independent of grants. However companies are legally obliged to put creating wealth for shareholders ahead of other values such as social good and environmental protection.
A social enterprise is designed to address these flaws in these traditional systems. It creates a trading organisation that can sustain itself through sales. And it is established with explicitly stated social (and/or environmental) objectives. So unlike a typical company it cannot ditch these in preference to financial goals.
What makes Food Connect a social enterprise?

Some of the features that Food Connect Adelaide has that makes it a social enterprise include:
Legally

* Food Connect Adelaide is wholly controlled by a Foundation (not-for-profit parent company)
* A percentage of all sales goes to the Food Connect Foundation
* The Foundation exists to fund/crreate more social enterprises involved in local and ecological and social food production

Workplace

* Flexible and inclusive work practices
* Focus on training and skilling up
* Salaries are capped at 3:1 so that the highest salary is no more than three times the lowest salary

Socially

* Buy direct from the farmer
* Food Connect buys locally (most within five hours of Adelaide) keeping money in the local economy
* Working with community groups (city cousins)
* Support small/new farmers by having a flexible purchasing policy
* Connect farmers with city folk

Environmentally

* Food Connect buys locally (most within five hours of Adelaide) keeping food miles down
* Food Connect buys from ecological farmers, with most being certified organic or biodynamic
* Green Purchasing Policy
* Reduce waste by buying more of the crop (all good tasting food that doesn’t meet size or shape specifications)

Financially

* Farmers are paid a fair price, which they get to set. (Typically farmers are price takers not price makers.)
* Between a third and a half of the box price goes to the farmer. (Typically farmers receive less than 10% of the supermarket shelf price)
* Increase sales to farmers by buying more of the crop (all good tasting food that doesn’t meet size or shape specifications)
* Local Purchasing Policy

Why do I need to complete a subscription form and wait for a confirmation email? Why can’t I just log in and purchase the box subscription I want?

In order to protect our City Cousins and also becasue of the way our online ordering system operates, you will be sent the details of your City Cousin location and a password to our online ordering system after payment has been made.

I am a subscriber of Food Connect Adelaide and now I want to become a City Cousin. what do I need to do?

Just email your interest and your current location to Sally, our City Cousin co-ordinator at info@foodconnectadelaide.com.au and she will get in touch with you to discuss the logistics and need in your area.

Got a question?

Post your questions in the comment box below and one of the team will get back to you asap!