Here are the answers to some common questions about our produce box scheme! If you’re thinking about joining the scheme and want to know more, this is a great place to start. If you’d like more information on any of the questions below (or if you have a question we haven’t covered) get in touch with us at hello@southernharvest.org.au and we’ll be happy to help!


How does a produce box subscription work?
When you sign up to the PB scheme you are committing to a weekly or fortnightly box of produce for a whole season (13 weeks). Southern Harvest purchases locally, sustainably grown produce directly from the farmers at a fair and transparent price, pack the boxes and distribute to our hubs around Canberra and the region. Think of it as sorting out your weekly fruit and veg shopping ahead of time! As a not-for-profit we do not place a markup on the produce, there is just a 35% administrative fee goes towards paying our staff and covering costs. The farmers are paid first. We believe that farmers should be paid the true cost of their food and be supported to bring us fresh, nutritious produce while caring for themselves and the land they farm. Southern Harvest farmers set their own produce costs and do not have these dictated to them.

Can I choose what goes in my box? How do you decide what everyone gets?
Subscribers cannot choose everything that goes into their box HOWEVER you CAN tell us your preferences. Many subscribers tell us which vegetables they love, or hate, or already grow in their garden and we’re able to individualise everyone’s box accordingly. Subscribers are able to update their preferences and we encourage feedback on what you’re receiving so we can give you the best produce for you!

Our staff allocate each produce box carefully to make sure everyone gets a variety of seasonal products that you can use for different meals throughout the week. Wherever possible we try to give everyone different items each week to increase the variety of what you receive across the season.

An example box for a subscriber in early December might look like this:

Can you tell me what will be in my produce box ahead of time?

We can absolutely give you a heads up on what you’ll be receiving the day before you pick up your box – just send us a text or email! This is especially useful for people who like to ‘top-up’ their box using our members-only online shop where subscribers can purchase extra fresh fruits and vegetables as well as a wide variety of dairy, bakery, preserves, seedlings, meat, wine, soaps, muesli and more! Depending on availability we can also make a swap for you if you’d prefer to change up the contents of your box, for example: “We loved the bok choy in last weeks box: can we have it again?”
We’re also working on a new platform where subscribers will be able to log into an account to check their produce boxes – watch this space!


Where can I collect my box from? What if there’s not a hub in my area?

  • Bungendore (NSW) – Wednesday evening
  • Queanbeyan East (NSW) – Wednesday evening
  • Higgins (ACT) – Tuesday evening
  • Holt(ACT) – Wednesday evening
  • Fyshwick (ACT) Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons
  • Hackett (ACT) – Wednesday evening
  • O’Connor (ACT) – Tuesday evening
  • Calwell (ACT) – Tuesday evening
  • Kambah (ACT) – Thursday evening
  • Braidwood (NSW) – Thursday afternoon

Delivery is available in some areas for an extra $5 charge.
If there’s not a hub in your area we would LOVE to help you start one! For us to activate a new site we need 10-15 subscribers and 1-2 volunteers. The hub is usually located at the home of a subscriber where produce can be left for pickup in a safe and protected location. We have flyers you can distribute around your neighbourhood to help you find enough subscribers to start a new hub. Contact us for more information about starting a hub in your area!

Where does the produce come from?

Southern Harvest producer members are located in the regions surrounding the ACT (see image) extending north to the Upper Lachlan Shire and south to the Bega Valley. This encompasses a number of rich and diverse bio-regions which allows us to offer fresh produce year round. We are committed to radical transparency, so when you receive your produce box, each item is listed with the name of the farm it came from meaning you can see exactly where it was grown and who grew it.

I have a large garden and grow a lot of my own food: why should I get a produce box?
Even the most accomplished gardeners often need to top up their homegrown produce. Many people who grow a lot of their own food will choose a half-size box (four items) or get a fortnightly subscription and, as we mentioned before, they have told us what they already grow themselves so we can avoid those veggies and offer some variety.

We also know that many home gardeners sometimes grow more than they can use in their household. Members are encouraged to exchange a glut of home-grown produce for credit on their fees. This allows us to add extra diversity to the scheme, reduce food waste and take advantage of the abundance of food being grown in backyards. Recently members have donated bunches of warrigal greens, silverbeet and homegrown citrus.

What if I don’t know how to cook an item?

In your box you might occasionally come across a fruit or vegetable that you haven’t cooked with before. Supermarket produce is grown to maximise storage time and limit transport damage – so there’s a limit to the diversity of fruits and veg you see on the shelf. But because our produce goes from farm to plate in such a short amount of time our producers have the freedom to grow a wide variety of delicious foods.

One of the benefits of the produce box scheme is that you are part of a community who can help you!

We regularly post information on unusual vegetables, as well as recipe ideas and tips for how to substitute familiar veggies with more unusual ones, for example, using sorrel to your spinach pie, making mashed swedes instead of potatoes etc. We have a closed Facebook group where subscribers can share recipe successes and share ideas.

If you ever need some help with an unfamiliar vegetable: get in touch! We are here to help, and we have LOTS of great ideas.

What happens to my box if I’m going away for a week?
If you need to pause your box for a week, just let us know and we can give you some options! Maybe you’d like extra produce another week, or you can have a friend or family member pick up the box on your behalf. We have quite a few subscribers who signed up for the scheme after sampling it for a week or two while friends were away. Speaking of which: did you know you can do a three week trial to see if the PB scheme works for you?
You can also choose to ‘pay it forward’ and we’ll give a box to someone in need.
I already shop at the farmers market: why is this different?
Shopping at a farmers market is great, but subscribing to a box is an even better way to support local growers. For farmers, attending a market is time consuming, can be inconvenient and expensive to travel to. And then there’s the risky game of ‘radish roulette’: how much will they sell? Should they harvest 50 bunches of radishes, or 20? What if we they only sell 10? What happens to the radishes? What if it rains that day and people stay at home?

Our produce box scheme is part of what we call a ‘solidarity economy’ and is based on the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model. Growers can predict what they need to harvest and can reduce waste. They have a regular source of income and set their own fair prices. We are also able to aggregate transport and storage which relieves the burden on farmers to deliver and is more convenient for them, and for the customer!

Did that answer all your questions? Get in touch if you’d like to know more!