But we've got to eat.
So what if conscientious consumers (that's suppose to be everyone) can actually demand to not only get their fresh produce 'fresher, cheaper, and easier' but also buy it directly from local food sources they can get to know and trust .
It is not an urban legend - local farmers and producers have figured it out. With the help of today's Internet technology they can bring their produce directly to households with the click of a few buttons...
Farmfresh Direct is our area's first online farmer's market. Through their website, http://www.farmfreshdirect.co.za/, you place your order directly from local farmers, producers, caterers, bakers and traders ("smouse") at their wholesale prices. It gets delivered, early every Thursday morning, sometimes just hours after being picked, packaged or baked. The produce first goes to cool room premises in the industrial area where every household's order is individually packaged (nothing fancy yet, just in recycled bags and crates) and then delivered as soon as possible to houses and offices.
And it is all kept local! A huge variety of free-range chicken from three local farms, free-range beef from Sedgefield, free-range eggs from Speelmanskraal, organic vegetables and just very fresh farm salads, herbs and vegetables from Oudtshoorn and Wilderness Heights, export quality filleted handline hake from Mossel Bay, cheeses and butter from Reenendal and Geelhoutboom, freshly baked breads and pastries from Knysna, local honey, jams, nuts, the biggest selection of prepared meals from four well-known local caterers, fresh local cutflowers - the list of products is growing weekly and Farmfresh Direct really encourages everyone to go and see just what our valley has to offer. Budgeting for more good quality fresh produce can have a dramatic effect on your family's health.
Jonél and Dawie Ackermann (owners of South Cape Flowers here in George for nearly two decades) have brought all the role players in this ground breaking venture together nearly a year ago. "Everyone has amazingly supported this new website thing just by word of mouth, but we now feel ready and excited to market and brand Farmfresh Direct and every single local supplier on our site to become households names in the area. Soon your local supplier will receive celebrity status.
"We passionately believe that such a sustainable food system can keep rands circulating in the local community, farmers and producers get to grow businesses and more job opportunities are created, even indirectly influencing our town's crime statistics. E-commerce enables us to keep the ‘mark-up’ very low as you don't have any huge overheads like rent, but especially no produce wastage as we only order exactly what the households have ordered," says the Ackermans.
If you want your local produce to be delivered Thursday afternoons, you just need to order on www.farmfreshdirect.co.za before Tuesdays at 13:00.
More information is available on the site, but you can always contact the office at 044 873 0076 (08:00 - 14:00) for more information or help with placing your order online, or Jonél directly on 082 339 3343.
The convenience of buying fresh produce by means of e-commerce is available in the George area through Farmfresh Direct. Order online and have your order delivered to your doorstep on a weekly basis. Here are some of the people whose products are sold in this way, from left, Louis de Jager (Hetta's Foods), (back) Sue Lenferna (Top Two Caterers), Gerrit Carstens (Eden's Best Chicken Farm), Tilla Venter (Pepa-Rose Foods), Johan de Jager (Hetta's Foods), Elrina Esterhuizen, Gerhard Koen, and Jonél and Dawie Ackermann, owners of Farmfresh Direct. Absent: Helena Ferreira (Farmfresh team).
