Sustainability, Packaging and Recycling at Farmers to You

Food Waste

Farmers To You is committed to creating a sustainable food system without food waste. We work with over 100 local farmers and producers, and from them we order only what we've sold each week to you - our partner families. Any leftover food is used for staff dinner or donated to the Barre Food Shelf and Community Harvest of Central VT. Food scraps are composted, and no food is thrown away. We have truly created a food distribution model without food waste!

Reusable Grocery Bags

We love our reusable Farmers To You bags. We ask that you return your bags each week, at your pickup site, or leave out for your delivery driver to pick up. Reusing bags reduces waste, keeps costs down and is better for our environment. We thank you for your collaboration!

Plastics and Packaging

At the grocery store, food that appears unpackaged in the produce department can be deceiving. Packaging to protect food as it is shipped, stocked, and presented to you adds up to a large amount of plastic waste - usually unseen. We are proud to say that the packaging that arrives to you in your Farmers to You grocery bag is nearly all the packaging that was used for those products. Your food is bagged and packaged on the farm or at FTY, and then comes straight to you!

You may ask, "Why do you use plastic bags in the first place!"? It's true, while Farmers To You is committed to reducing waste and environmental impact at every level, we still choose to use plastic for some items at this time. Plastic bags preserve the delicate balance of moisture in greens and vegetables while keeping dry goods dry. They also keep your food - vegetables, for example - from touching meat or other packaging. We encourage you to reuse and recycle your plastic bags - simply wash and dry them, or take them to your nearest plastic bag recycling.

We are regularly researching alternatives to plastic bags, and choose other options as much as possible. Unfortunately, we do not currently have a better, food-safe and environmentally friendly solution. We are trying out alternatives to plastic clamshells, and are hopeful about finding eco-friendly packaging that keeps your food protected, fresh and delicious.

Always Improving

As an organization, and as individuals in it, Farmers to You is very concerned by how much waste is produced by large-scale food systems (40% of food wasted from farm to table), and by environmental degradation related to food production and distribution. We are constantly brainstorming how to reduce packaging waste, as well as increase recycling and reusables. We are currently researching and compiling up to date information on reducing impact, and are committed to offering transparency about what goes into getting your delicious farm-fresh food to you. We continue to try and do our best, and recognize that we are a small part of larger efforts to find solutions to plastic and environmental waste. We are committed to participating in the network of small businesses reducing plastic and packaging use, and to participating in movements to reduce waste overall.

Here is what we are currently doing to reduce our waste, and recycle and reuse as much material as possible:

• We pack as many items as possible into brown paper bags
• We are sending items unbagged when possible - for example squash, cabbages and leeks
• We return the majority of cardboard boxes and reusable bins to our farmers and producers for reuse, or cut them up and use them to protect your fragile items en route to you.
• We reuse FTY Bags, Cold Packs, Egg Cartons, and shipping totes. We take back your Strafford Glass Milk Bottles so that Strafford can sterilize and reuse those bottles. Just pack it all up in your FTY bag, and bring it back to your pickup site each week!
• We recycle all that can be recycled here at the hub, and take plastic wrap to the Alternative Recycling Center in Barre, VT
• We produce no food waste, composting a small bin of food scraps each week.
• We strongly encourage our members to recycle all other packaging materials that arrive in your FTY bags. The clamshells for mushrooms and herbs, the plastic bags meat is sealed in, etc can all be recycled. We thank you for doing your part, and for helping us do ours as we work toward as little waste as possible.

We are always looking for more solutions, and want to know what ideas you have to reduce environmental waste and build a sustainable world. Please let us know if you have ideas, information or celebrations for us. We thank you for doing your part to reduce, reuse and recycle!

What does Farmers To You take back for Reuse?

Farmers To You takes back various items for reuse. This supports our farmer/vendor partners and our hub in reducing waste, and getting the most out of our materials. Please return the following items at your pick up site or leave them out for your delivery person:

• Glass Milk bottles: (Strafford only) rinsed and air dried, no lids please. Strafford sterilizes and reuses these bottles for their milk products.
• Egg cartons: please return only clean egg cartons that are in good condition. We can only accept cartons that came in your Farmers To You order.
• Farmers To You bags: clean, tags removed. We reuse clean bags in good condition to package your food each week.
• Packing materials from FTY if in good condition (cardboard, etc.)

Any other items - please recycle at home. We are very grateful for the recycling programs of the greater Boston area.

Updates from our Farmers & Producers:

• Jericho Settlers has switched its packaging to recycled and recyclable plastic containers for all salad greens! Read more about this transition, and Jericho Settlers goals to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle on their blog.
• We are in regular conversations with our farmers and producers about their packaging, plastic use and environmentally sustainable choices. We will continue to highlight ongoing improvements and commitments to reduce waste from the people who grow and produce the food our customers love.