This week we’re excited to welcome back a lot of fresh produce from the larger commercial growers in the north of the state, heralding the real end of the hunger gap. $40 boxes have a whole kilo of Harvest Moon broccoli, planted in August after the floods had subsided – the picture shows the one hectare planting right next to the packing operation which should yield at least ten tonnes! We’re also excited to have been able to source cauliflower from Milton Farms in Don and iceberg lettuce from Southern Fields in Forcett; local supply of both of these items has been unavailable for quite a while. We’re also looking forward to new season’s carrots from Premium Fresh within the month, fingers crossed! These large growing and packing operations generate a large proportion of employment in the North-West region especially, and grow large volumes of high-quality produce that enable Tasmania to not rely heavily on food imported from other regions of the country or overseas. It’s 
been a very difficult season for farming with many extreme weather conditions, with huge losses in both infrastructure and crops; it’s great to see this region bouncing back, and we’re glad to be able to invest some of your money into supporting our battered agricultural sector.
Our organic boxes see the return of potato; finding an alternative source of potatoes after the closure of Forest Hill Farm has been a bit of a nightmare, but we’ve just rediscovered Anchor Organics, who in addition to some gourmet and conventional lines, also grow certified organic potatoes at their property in Pyengana. We’re also really excited to welcome back Alex from Golden Valley Farm with some lovely salad onions, sweet Hakurei turnips, and broad beans. Home grower Lisa has also supplied us with some bunches of dill, which she has generously donated the proceeds of to Standing Rock. This week’s budget boxes feature a surprisingly hard vegetable to source – peas! – from retired New Norfolk gent Ivan; we’re looking forward to including more of his spray-free veg (which he fertilises with sheep manure from the Lions Club) in future weeks.
