Sourcing winter's sunshine: our tropical fruit story.

Meeting the demand for more winter fruits has been nearly a decade-long effort. In a perfect world, we'd grow everything we eat in our own backyard and do it year-round. While some ambitious folks have tried to grow crops like winter strawberries and tropicals locally, technology is still evolving and the Canadian climate poses challenges in replicating an ideal environment. To expand our winter fruit selection (something your annual survey feedback has been asking for a long time), we've sought out responsible farmers outside our borders who share our values.

Our journey began in Florida, where we explored citrus grown without synthetic pesticides. It made sense to hit the Sunshine State first - the closest place to home-growing tropicals. Although they’ve been providing us with great citrus over the years, they’re facing challenges like greening and hurricanes. That’s why we’ve recently grown our partnerships to include organic farmers in Mexico, Peru, and California, filling in the gaps in the season and adding new varieties like pomegranates and kiwis.

Our goal isn't to compete with Quebec or Ontario's seasons. We celebrate local fruit when fields bloom with berries and melons and orchards overflow with apples and stone fruits. Our tropical selection doesn’t overlap with what’s grown locally - while we’ve added new varieties, you won’t see anything like grapes coming from elsewhere during the local season anytime soon.

Traceability is everything for us. When you head to the grocery store, the aisles are filled with fruit from all over the world - and at best you’ll find out which country they come from. We’ve made it our priority to track each fruit to its roots, knowing exactly which farm grows it along with their responsible practices. If we can't follow the trail, it won't make it onto our Marketplace.

We’re working on filling each truckload, making the most of our travel footprint. As we expand our reach, we're diving deep into each region's seasons and harvests, getting a good handle on how much they can send us weekly. We're aiming to get our ordering super spot-on to maximize transport as we continue our commitment to sustainable practices.

While we understand that tropical fruits aren't the most local options, our mission is to create a better food system - including giving access to a diverse range of fruits while making sure you trust their traceability and origins.