Erica Hughes, the founder of FNQ start-up FARMER MEETS FOODIE has begun a new mission to fill the fresh seafood gap for the sustainable seafood market. The Tablelands-based virtual marketplace connecting producers and the public is now testing the waters with a new ‘Trawler to Table’ service for locally sourced sustainably-certified wild-caught seafood.
The Farmer Meets Foodie online platform was launched earlier this year, and has now joined forces with Austral Fisheries and Start Some Good to run a pilot project to deliver prawns and bugs from the Gulf of Carpentaria direct to homes and restaurants in Cairns.
“A lot of seafood harvested in North Queensland travels to Brisbane before coming back to North Queensland supermarkets,” said Farmer Meets Foodie Founder, Erica Hughes.
“It makes no sense. This project will be saving an astounding 3362 km of food miles per box by keeping it in North Queensland, reducing the cost to the environment and fishers, and ultimately the consumer.”
“Seafood for Good is all about closing the trawler to table gap for sustainable seafood,” said StartSomeGood Co-Founder and CEO, Tom Dawkins.
“Farmer Meets Foodie does exactly this by linking consumers to producers while promoting transparency and sustainability.”
During September, supporters can pledge a donation in return for rewards, including home delivery of Skull Island Tiger Prawns and Bugs sourced from Karumba, a glamping and Tablelands food experience and a Boho beach picnic featuring sustainably sourced local produce. The crowdfunding campaign will allow Farmer Meets Foodie to build new technology and roll out the delivery of products across the region, ahead of its ‘Summer of Sustainable Seafood’ launch in Cairns at the end of November.
“We want to give Far Northern foodies the full story of how this seafood is harvested and delivered in season, including the minimal impact on by-catch, improved nets, turtle excluder devices and annual science surveys to monitor the status of the fishery,” she said.
Additional local sustainable produce will also be offered for delivery throughout November. The official Summer of Sustainable Seafood Celebration Event will take place on Sunday 29 November at Barrier Reef Brewing Co. in Cairns.
