AS RISING living costs bite, Julia Geue appreciates the chance to save money, find new ways to eat healthier and to help others in the process.
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Ballarat welfare agencies have also come under pressure with a rise in middle-class families seeking help for the first time this winter.
Ms Geue turned to Farmers' Pick for a weekly seasonal produce box filled with imperfect fruit and vegetables. She quickly noticed the change in her cheaper grocery bill and was pleased it was also a sustainable option helping farmers, including those across western Victoria, in buying produce that otherwise did not sell and at times disrupted crop rotations.
"I love that it's all fresh produce in season and can be fruit and vegetables I might not normally buy," Ms Geue said. "...With everything being so expensive, it's helped us change the way we shop."
Ms Geue said her family would wait for their weekly produce box to arrive before working out a grocery shop for other items. When a more unfamiliar vegetable arrives, such as celeriac, she will find recipes to give it a try.
In turn, Ms Geue said the boxes had encouraged her family to eat more fresh produce.
She also appreciated that Farmers' Pick partners with Oz Harvest to help supply meals to Australians in need.
Melbourne start-up Farmers' Pick has been delivering and working with farmers in the Ballarat region for a couple of years now. Mates Josh Ball and Josh Brooks-Duncan started the business after finding a "weird" looking carrot in a farmers' market and realised tasted good.
They learned tonnes of misshapen produce - often only too big or too small - was left on farms each year. While big supermarkets do have imperfect lines, Mr Ball said there was still a lot of overlooked fruit and vegetables.
They buy direct from Australian farmers to make it "worth digging", which in turn shortens the supply chain.
Mr Ball said changing household consumption and waste was also about education, such as best ways to store produce, and finding more expensive was not always best.
He said cost of living was a challenge with a general perception cheaper produce had a shorter shelf life.
"When there's a surplus, in season and it's cheap, that's always the best stuff you can buy," Mr Ball said.
Farmers' Pick is looking for more produce farmers in the Ballarat region to join their supplies.
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