Did you know that each year, a shocking amount of food goes to waste? According to ReFed, a staggering 38% of the 235 million tons of food in our supply chain went unsold or uneaten in 2022. Here in California alone, 7.35 million tons of produce met the same fate. The carbon footprint consequences of food waste is immense. At Frog Hollow Farm, we're on a mission to change that narrative. Where there is challenge, there is opportunity! It’s incredibly impactful to find ways to redirect food that can’t be sold in traditional retail channels toward productive uses.
As stewards of the land and producers of highly perishable fruit, we're deeply committed to reducing food waste and utilizing as much of the harvest as possible for its "highest and best use" - meaning that it is finding its way to the table and being eaten by people!
At Frog Hollow we take a multi-faceted approach to reducing food waste:
Direct-to-consumer sales
Where a grocery store may only accept unblemished, “perfectly” sized fruit (which works out to be only ~50% of our total crop). Our incredible CSA members and Farmers Market customers, play a pivotal role in our efforts. By embracing cosmetically imperfect and perfectly ripe fruit, they help us divert food from going to waste. Thanks to our CSA members' unwavering support, in 2023 alone, we rescued and packed 161,304 pounds of ripe, sweet, and juicy fruit that would have otherwise been deemed unsellable for eating out of hand through retail channels. Our loyal Farmers Market customers ate their way through 100,000 pounds.
The USDA estimates that the average shrink rate in supermarkets for fresh fruit in 2011-12 was 12.6 percent, up 2% from its previous analysis in 2005-6. Through our gold-standard carbon-neutral nationwide direct shipping program, our mail-order customers receive fruit that goes from Tree to Table within 48 hours reducing the transportation chain and handling associated with retail channels.
Upcycling and the age-old tradition of food preservation
Upcycling is transforming food that would normally be thrown away into an edible food product. In our Farm Kitchen, our skilled team of food artisans transforms surplus fruit that is too ripe or damaged to be eaten out of hand into delightful treats. In 2023 we sent 107,179 pounds of fruit to the kitchen where it was crafted into exceptionally flavorful dried fruit, conserves, and pastries.
By upcycling fruit that would otherwise be deemed unsellable, we’re reducing food waste while drawing on the age-old tradition of food preservation so we can enjoy the flavors of our summer harvest year-round! And we’re creating meaningful year-round employment for our crew to do this work, contributing to the health of our local economy.
Recycling nutrients - Composting
We strive to utilize as much of the harvest as possible for its highest and best use - eating! But whatever we cannot upcycle or sell for fresh eating does not go to waste! What we can’t eat goes into compost and becomes essential nutrients for our soil so we may begin the cycle all over again.
Food waste mitigation is a key component embedded in regenerative organic agricultural principles and is part and parcel of commitment to land stewardship while producing incredibly flavorful and nutritious foods. We’re all playing a part in tackling these huge issues facing our food systems and our world… one peach at a time!