Rising food prices means some people are cutting back on fruit and vegetable consumption
- This social enterprise aims to make fruit and vegetables more accessible
Julie El Bayeh is packing boxes in the garage of her Western Sydney home. She’s just taken delivery of a truckload of fresh produce, straight from the growers, and is splitting it up for collection by local families.
“I started off seven months ago with 12 members and now we are up to 41,” she says.
Ms El Bayeh, 50, is among 160 'hubsters', as they are called, and part of a social enterprise called Box Divvy.
“It's a great option because when you compare with supermarket prices, the Box Divvy prices are usually cheaper by 30 to 40 per cent.”
Food hub boxes being prepared for collection Credit: BS News /Sandra Fulloon
And that’s important, with an iceberg lettuce costing up to $10 in some supermarkets, while Box Divvy icebergs retail for $4.50.
“What we do is we order a box of lettuces and then we divide them into the members' boxes,” Julie says.
Some of Ms El Bayeh’s extended family are members and collect their boxed orders weekly.
"I run a business, and I don't have time to go shopping," her aunt, Marsha El Bayeh, says.
"This way, I go on the internet and place my order by Sunday night and pick up the fruit and vegetables every Tuesday."
Marsha El Bayeh collecting a weekly food box Credit: SBS News / Sandra Fulloon
“I live with my elderly parents and they both have diabetes,” says Julie's sister-in-law Rose El Bayeh.
“So it's really important that on a daily basis, they're eating low glycemic index foods and lots of fresh vegetables.”
The latest cost of living figures show fresh fruit and vegetable prices rose by a further six per cent in the three months to June.
Higher prices mean some families are cutting back, which is a concern for health experts.
“The increasing price of vegetables is not something we need, because vegetable consumption is already too low in Australia,” says Mathew Dick, chief nutritionist with Health and Wellbeing Queensland.
A Fruit and Vegetable Consortium study earlier this year of more than 1,000 grocery shoppers found 85 per cent of rural Queenslanders linked the price of fresh produce with not eating enough greens. A similar result, 72 per cent, was reported in Brisbane.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports only six per cent of adults and eight per cent of children are eating the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables daily.
Vegetable prices are soaring in Australia Credit: SBS News / Sandra Fulloon
“Yet 40 per cent of all cardiovascular disease is attributed to diet.
“And so eating more vegetables can have a big impact on heart health, by reducing heart disease and lowering the risk of having a stroke."
There are benefits for the broader community, too.
“Increasing vegetable consumption by one serve per day, that’s half a cup, could reduce government spending by $200 million a year,” Mr Dick says.
High produce prices are bringing farmers some relief from a year of wet weather losses.
Second-generation grower Daniel Vella and his brother Jason farm 60 hectares in northwest Sydney and are getting top dollar for their leafy greens.
“The prices at the market are probably the highest I've ever seen. In fact, probably the highest my father's ever seen,” Mr Vella says.
The Vella family has grown vegetables in Sydney for 60 years Credit: Supplied Daniel Vella
But it’s not all good news. Despite higher returns, the family lost $250,000 worth of fresh produce during the big wet earlier this year.
“During the February floods and the storm event, we pretty much lost everything,” Mr Vella says.
Across NSW and South East Queensland, high summer temperatures on top of constant rain left millions of dollars worth of food plants rotting in waterlogged fields. And the impact has flowed on through winter.
Daniel and Jason Vella at their farm in Kurmond Credit: SBS News / Sandra Fulloon
And it's not the only cost Australian farmers are counting.
“It is hard to get workers. The price of fertiliser has doubled, fuel costs have almost doubled,” Mr Vella says.
Those soaring production costs mean shoppers will be forking out more for fresh food for some months yet.
Co-operatives and social enterprises such as Box Divvy can benefit both families and farmers, as co-founder Jayne Travers-Drapes says. The farm-to-family approach helps to keep transport costs low.
Box Divvy co-founder Jayne Travers-Drapes Credit: SBS News / Sandra Fulloon
“We palletise it and out it goes, packed and picked up by members on the same day.”
The social enterprise is growing rapidly, with 7,000 families now on board in NSW and the ACT.
Running a food hub also earns hubsters like Ms El Bayeh a small income.
“My hub is growing, so I'm getting more sales,” she says.
“This week my sales were $2,000. So I make about 12 per cent on that, roughly about $220 a week.”
Ms El Bayeh is grateful for the income. She left her full-time school administration job last year to care for her 77-year-old mother, Nadia.
Julie El Bayeh with her mother, Nadia Credit: SBS News / Sandra Fulloon
“So we have to monitor her. We have to supervise her 24 hours day and night.”
With her home-based business booming, Ms El Bayeh hopes soon to double her client list, by running an extra weekly hub.
She says the rewards are more than just financial.
“Children are eating well, parents are eating well. And it just makes you feel really good."
