Meet Farmed Today, a game-changer in the subscription box industry helping consumers buy food directly from the farmers who grew them. Follow along to discover how buying local food is far more sustainable than eating fruits and vegetables that have travelled farther than any of us did this pandemic season.

In these lockdown days, it seems like you can get a subscription box for everything. From artisan wine and cheeses, to snack boxes that will expand your treat horizons, and even meal boxes that take the struggle out of dinner prep. But there’s one start-up in the Netherlands who go above and beyond our consumer pleasure of eating good food, and they’re called Farmed Today. 

Not only do they deliver local fruits and vegetables to your doorstep, but they’re a passionate Amsterdam-based food company working on solving global issues within the food-supply chain, making sustainable food more free, more transparent, and more respectful for everybody.

This week, we at A City Made By People had the pleasure of speaking to the founder of Farmed Today, Demba Lehrer, to find out more about this fair, healthy, and sustainable mission that drives the company.

Hey Demba, let’s start off nice and easy. What do you want consumers to know about Farmed Today? What's the best thing about you?

“Well since I was young, I was fascinated and affected by the food-and-drink industry. During my studies at Hotelschool the Hague in 2017, I came across fundamental issues within our current food system that affect food production, distribution, waste, and logistics. For example:

• Small-scale food producers’ margins are too small to be able to
operate effectively.

• Local, sustainable food produce are too rare and too difficult to
access for consumers.

• The amount of plastic packaging and wasted foods are too high,
resulting in unnecessary pressure on our society and the environment.

In 2018 I met with Joel Salatin, known as the world’s most innovative farmer. Together with him, we brainstormed about a global, sustainable food system and what’s needed in order to achieve it.

Therefore, Farmed Today was created to work on solving these problems and setting the foundation for a sustainable future. I think that’s why it’s important for our consumers to know that we strive to accomplish our goals of:

• Providing fair margins to food producers.

• Providing access to sustainable foods for consumers.

• Reducing the food waste in Europe, and

• Educating European consumers about sustainability within the food system.” 

During this COVID-19 pandemic, we've been told by our governments to stay indoors or to physically distance ourselves from one another to help minimise risk and spread. With this in mind, farm and produce box subscriptions are an ideal alternative to grocery shopping at major chains, and a wonderful way to give back and invest in local farms. 

With Farmed Today, has this opportunity translated well? Has COVID-19 helped your consumers realise the benefits of eating local, fresh, seasonal, and sustainable foods?

“Since everybody now appreciates fresh food delivery to their homes even more than before, it has helped us a lot in further growth.”

What's next for Farmed Today? What other categories of food do you plan on tackling/moving into?

“We did substantial research on superfoods and realised that most superfoods are coming from far away, with large Co2 emissions, and with no fair or transparent supply chain. That’s why we are currently developing an assortment of locally sourced superfoods for the West-European consumer market. These will give you the same health benefits like the current range of superfoods, and at the same time support the local economy, farmers, and our biodiversity.”

Now that’s one way to help support your local farmer. But there’s more! Not only did we have the pleasure of conducting this short interview with Demba, but we’ve also filmed and produced an entire video course with him too.  

The best part? We want to share this knowledge with you, and have made our first episode of this course free for viewing. If you’re keen for more, sign-up to our membership platform for the cost of only three coffees a month (€10) and access the full 4-video course with Farmed Today.  

Enjoy the first episode! 

Words by correspondent Sarah Picolet