Sydney-based social enterprise Good & Fugly today revealed a produce ‘rescue’ hotline for farmers who have had their supplies rejected by retailers.
The service is available immediately for farmers to make arrangements for the Good & Fugly team to purchase the surplus fruits and vegetables.
The hotline number is 13-000-FUGLY.
Founded in 2020, Good & Fugly works with local farmers to source blemished or imperfect fruits and vegetables, referred to as ‘fugly’ produce, to reduce the environmental impact of food wastage while creating new revenue streams for farmers.
The 13-000-FUGLY hotline is a direct response to the significant volume of produce wasted due to not meeting retailers' aesthetic specifications. Crop growers are often left to discard unwanted produce — which is where Good & Fugly steps in.
Paul Milano, a farmer in Swan Hill, Victoria who partnered with Good & Fugly after retailers rejected hundreds of kilograms of fruit, said, “Everyone loses when good quality fruit and veg goes to waste, when it's perfectly fine for human consumption. Last year on our farm alone 50 tonnes had to be thrown away and this kind of thing is being duplicated across Australia.”
Over a quarter of fresh fruit and veg never leaves the farm because they don’t meet supermarket’s beauty standards, leaving farmers at a loss not only in revenue but for their time, energy and resources.
Good & Fugly founder Richard Tourino said the team was dedicated to finding ways to support all farmers across Australia—especially during times of supply chain shortages and floods.
“What we do is better for the consumer, better for the growers and better for the planet. It’s an economically and environmentally sustainable social enterprise that Aussie farmers can get ahead with. The feedback from farmers has been really positive. They’re telling us we’re giving them an option that didn’t exist before,” said Tourino.
