The End

It’s been a long road to get here, and here is someplace we never dreamed we would be. As we wrote about earlier this year, we sold our farm a few months ago, and we settled last Friday. It was a strange feeling, saying goodbye to that land for the last time. And to be honest, I’m still processing all the feelings that come with it. Sorrow, of course, and regret, but also a feeling of relief and exhaustion that I can only now really acknowledge.

If you read the above post, you know that we hoped to continue our veggie boxes, and continue to support our local food bowl, even once we had sold the farm. We hoped to keep part of the business that we worked so hard on for the last 5 years. And we hoped to keep growing and encouraging the beautiful community of local, organic and zero waste eaters that we had begun. Unfortunately, we no longer think that will be possible.

Selling the farm, while in some ways a relief, has not magically improved our exhaustion. I am not the sort of woman who glows and glides through pregnancy, and Matt is working harder than ever to cover extra responsibilities that should be, and were, mine.

Our philosophy of ethics made running a business harder. We refused to compromise when it came to the environment, our animals were looked after long after they became unproductive. And our employees were friends first. I don’t regret these things in the slightest. What I regret is not extending the same compassion and kindness to ourselves. But now we need to continue to put our growing family first, and to truly give ourselves a chance to recover from burnout.

So this week (19A) will see our final deliveries of veggie boxes. They will come out to you on your normal delivery day, in paper bags. Please leave out your crates as normal, so we can make sure they continue to get used by other farmers.

Thank you for your support over the last five years. Some of you have been customers for that long. Others only joined us recently. Either way, we never would have got this far without you.

We hope that our failure- our need for recovery- doesn’t set back anyone else’s journey. There are other businesses who also believe in ethical food. While I don’t know of anyone else who delivers a veggie box quite like ours, there are lots of Mornington Peninsula farmers and farm gates that you can find here. Please, engage with them. Ask them about their growing practises. Ask what’s organic, ask where there produce is grown, or bought from? And ask if they would consider not wrapping in single use plastic. You’d be amazed how many farmers believe it’s what customers want! If you’re shopping from a local greengrocer ask the same questions-Food knowledge is power.

Not everything is available on the Peninsula, certainly not if you’re looking for organic, so we also love The Prom Coast Collective. This collaborative farmer model is exactly what we want to see more of, so please support them if you can. If you move further towards the city, check out Edigrocer, Parkigrocer and Beenagrocer- they have fantastic box models that use similar direct from the farmer ethics to ours, and that are also zero waste/waste cycling for rubber bands, microherb pots, etc..

And what will our family be doing be? We’ll still be eating seasonally, locally, and organically. And be growing a small patch of veg. But we’ll also be spending time together and enjoying picnics in the last of our autumn weather. Kingsley has developed a love of beach cleanups. I want to volunteer at our local repair cafe. Matt wants to catch up with friends and family further afield that we’ve neglected in the last few years.

We’re not sure what we’ll do in the next little while for work. For right now, our focus is on healing. But when we know where we’re heading next, we’ll keep you posted!

Thank you for your support, and for your understanding. We will always be grateful to those who walked this path with us, and to those who believed in our dream with us.

Rach, Matt, Kingsley, and bub.