Where Does The FruitGuys’ Produce Come From? Sustainable Sourcing FAQs

Your fruit has a story—but do you know it? We’ve gathered answers to some of the most common questions we get about where our produce comes from to help you get acquainted.

1. Where does The FruitGuys’ produce come from?

We source our produce from small family farms near our regional hubs whenever we can. However, we can’t source from those farms exclusively because of seasonality and weather constraints, so we also partner with produce wholesalers to fill the gaps. You can learn more about that and how quickly our fresh, farm-to-table produce can travel from the orchard to your office in our  “Where Does My Fruit Come From?” blog. 

2. Is all of the fruit in my box local to me and from small farms?

The fruit in our mixes changes every week, and it also varies based on your region, the season, and the mix you chose. We always try to include as much produce from small, local farms as we can, especially in our Season’s Best Box. However, the season and the weather can make 100 percent local and small farm sourcing tricky. We also have more farm partners in some regions than others.

Some regions, like the Northeast, have a very short growing season. So, in the winter, a 100 percent local and small-farm box might be nothing but apples. And as much as we love to keep the doctor away, it’s nice to mix things up! To make sure our customers can enjoy a variety of fresh, healthy fruit year-round, we sometimes look farther afield for our produce (like adding fresh California-grown mandarins to an East Coast winter mix) and work with a network of carefully chosen wholesalers. 

To find out exactly which fruits are in your box and where they were grown, visit “This Week’s Mixes” and choose your region. 

3. Does The FruitGuys source bananas locally? 

Ahh, local bananas—that’s the stuff of FruitGuy daydreams! We’d love to source them someday, but for now, American-grown bananas are few and far between. You can find some in places with weather similar to the tropics, like Georgia, Florida, Hawaii, and California, but they don’t grow enough to keep offices supplied year-round. To do that, we rely on farms in Guatemala and Ecuador, which grow higher volumes of fruit. 

4. Does The FruitGuys ever import produce? 

The FruitGuys always buys local first. We prioritize supporting regional farmers and keeping our supply chain as local and sustainable as possible. But as we mentioned above, we do import bananas (meaning we purchase them from other countries), and we occasionally bring in other items to keep our mixes interesting and exciting. For example, when berries, avocados, or cucumbers aren’t in season in the US or supplies are low, we might source them from Mexico until there are more local options.

5. Why does The FruitGuys prioritize local sourcing?

We believe that local, sustainable sourcing is the right thing to do for our communities and the planet. It’s our way of supporting our friends and neighbors, building strong communities and food systems, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Small, local farms are often strong stewards of the land and environment, too. You can learn more about our commitment to sustainable sourcing and supporting small farms here and in our blog, “Are Small Farms Important? 6 Reasons to Support Them.”

6. What makes the fruit from The FruitGuys different from the fruit at the grocery store?

Every grocery store is different, but here at The FruitGuys, we prioritize working directly with small, local farms whenever we can to bring you truly fresh, farm-to-table produce. (Or maybe we should say farm-to-break room produce!). In some cases, we can get fruit from the field or orchard to you in as little as 1–3 days. We prioritize sourcing seasonally over importing produce from far away, and our expert buyers carefully choose only the best-tasting items for our mixes. That’s why we have a 100% satisfaction guarantee on every box.

7. The grocery store has [insert fruit here], but it’s not in my mix. Why not?

As we said above, every grocery store is different. But most big box stores care more about consistency than sustainable sourcing, seasonality, or flavor. They import fruit from far away so that their shelves look well stocked, even if that fruit isn’t in season and tastes more like cardboard than food. (We’re looking at you, December peaches!) 

Here at The FruitGuys, we have different priorities. We offer some fruits like bananas, apples, and oranges year-round, but we won’t add strawberries to our mixes in November or sell you peaches in February because they won’t taste their best. Instead, we aim to deliver the freshest produce our farm partners have as close to harvest as we can get it. 

Still have sustainable sourcing questions? Check our FAQ page, and if you can’t find the answer there, reach out to customer service. They’re always up for a fruit chat!