Misfit Garden is one of those businesses we look up to. Jen and Sofia have created a subscription business with a conscience that fights unnecessary food waste by linking food growers and consumers through its vegetable and fruit boxes. Food that’s surplus or rejected because it’s misshapen or too big, too small etc. gets redirected through their subscription service rather than going to waste. I’m one of those converts who gets a weekly delivery and loves the fact that I’m eating more seasonally as a result. It’s one of those things whereby giving up control, (I never quite know what’s going to turn up each week) it forces me to be more creative and think this is what I’ve got, what am I going to cook with it.
It’s the way we think about our flowers here in this business, we don’t always know what our growers are going to send us but we’ve got it, so we have to use it and by using it we’re expanding our own abilities. Last year we were lucky enough to be seated with Misfit Garden at the Stella Business Awards where we were both finalists in the Green Gang category and which they won. A well-deserved win, considering they’ve now expanded their service outside of Taupo to the Bay of Plenty, Waikato and beyond. It’s an exciting but bold move considering a lot of households are now tightening their belts. But seeing them grow is exciting because it means more consumers are caring about what they eat, and as their business grows so does the income of their farmers who get to sell more of their crop, providing a better income for them in this cost of living crisis.
Admittedly this winter has been a tough one for us, spending is definitely more cautious and flowers are not as essential as food. However we know that what we do is important and while it’s not a basic need like sustenance, flowers are food for the soul and essential for connecting people who might otherwise be separated by distance or by simply not having the words and needing to show affection. They say when things are going tough look to other businesses with similar values to help each other out. With that in mind I reached out to Misfit Garden to ask if we could include our leaflets in their boxes and they’ve opened their arms to us (hopefully we’ll run a little competition for some freebies together soon too), so if you’re a subscriber you’ll receive a little newsletter update from us along with your yummy produce. There’s not a lot we can do to thank them, but by writing this hopefully more people will be converted and realise what truly awesome people they are and what a fantastic service they provide. Afterall slow food and slow flowers are the way of the future.
