Episode 11: The Fruit Stand
This week, we are talking all about the good stuff: fruits & veggies. Owner of The Fruit Stand, Ethan Lehrburger, joins us to talk about his locally owned business and how he is accomplishing his mission of bringing the best fresh conventional & organic leafy greens and juicy fruits to you. And, you may find out some interesting facts about this industry that you may not know. Enjoy!
SHOW NOTES:
1:02-Intro Ethan and his company, The Fruit Stand. Ethan talks about how he got into the business and what he was doing prior to owning and operating this company.
8:40- How his business works, why he has stepped back a little from Farmers Markets and where he is selling now.
13:07- Transporting the food. Ethan talks about some of the logistics of getting the food accross the state of Colorado.
19:10- Some crazy stories Ethan has about working with farmers, what he has learned about the industry that he didn't realize prior to running this business & some of the highs and lows he has experienced.
34:15- Some of the other places Ethan travels to after the Colorado fruit and vegetable season is done and how he gets new customers.
36:25- Changes in the food business. Ethan talks about how crazy it is to see how much waste there is in this industry and things he thinks could be put in place to help fix this problem.
41:15- Ethan talks about his prices and how much it can vary depending on the economy, weather and other environmental factors.
44:50- Biggest challenges. Ethan talks about always racing against the clock because the riper something is the less it is worth and how important that is to every part of his business.
48:07- The Fruit Stand's customers. Ethan talks about how he markets himself and how he creates new business for his produce.
52:30- Conventional or Organic. Ethan talks about the pros & cons of both and how he feels our whole food system is backwards as far as the organic companies needing certifications and not the companies using chemicals.
56:13- Grocery store vs farmers markets. Ethan sheds some light on why grocery store produce looks so much better than farmers markets but why farmers market produce tastes so much better.
58:18- Ethan's message for the world.
Learn more:
https://www.greenbiz.com/article/why-food-industry-struggles-reduce-waste
http://www.fao.org/save-food/resources/keyfindings/en/
https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/04/organic-food-vs-conventional-food/
http://localorganicmeals.com/downloads/LOMB-Farms-vs-Stores.pdf
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/From-farm-to-market-Pros-cons-of-buying-direct-2915503.php
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