What does ShiokFarm mean ?
'Shiok' is commonly used in Malaysia & Singapore. Expression of happiness, pleasure. It conveys a feeling of strong taste buds tingling (when used with regards to food).
Top 5 Questions
Why take the subscription option with 2-month notice ?
ShiokFarm gathers families who commit to buying a farmer's entire harvest. This allows good prices as the farmer does not have a risk of unsold inventory anymore. Giving farmers this much needed visibility also allows the ShiokFarm community to reduce food waste by about 40%.
I am going on holiday. What can I do with my subscription ?
Log into your account. Select the ‘Holiday Form’ option, Pause Subscription, and enter the dates you are going on holiday.
You are given three choices:
- Donate to Charity: we donate to Cheshire Homes and so far, we have donated more than 3 tonnes.
- Give to a Friend (let us know their contact details and we’ll arrange this)
- Receive Credits: you can use up to 8 weeks of holidays per year and convert them into credits. Credits are to be used in the ShiokMarket section of the website. This is the best way we have found to really support our farmers: you pause your subscription and we let the farmer know that yes, they will get an order, but it will come a bit later. This goes down much better than “nope, no order” and really helps us maintain a good and fair partnership with our farmers..
Can I choose what goes in my fruit & vegetables bag ?
You can let us know what you “like” and “dislike” and we will definitely try to keep it into mind when packing your bag.
If you subscribe to the 7kg Large Mix of Fruit and Vegetables, you can now ‘Swap Produce’. This new feature allows you to swap 3 items from your bag with produce from our ShiokMarket that week. This feature is currently only available for this bag. If we manage to make it work from a logistics point of view, we will expand this to other bags.
Please keep in mind that we sign long-term agreements with farmers to purchase harvest - which is why we have such good prices. We are morally linked to those people and their families and thank you very much for keeping this in mind when making decisions.
Can I know in advance what will be in my bag ?
Yes!
Every Friday we post on our Facebook page the bags’ content for the upcoming week. Ask to join our page here and send us an email to hello@shiokfarm.com if we have not approved your application within the next 24 hours, specifying your Facebook name, if different from your real name. Note that this page is reserved to our members exclusively.
Please note that as we work directly with farms and depend on the sun’s good will, bags’ content might vary slightly from what was announced.
ARE YOU REALLY SINGAPORE MOST ETHICAL ONLINE GROCER AND WHAT DOES “B CORP” MEAN?
We are B-Corp certified. B-Lab is an independent organisation that ensures companies are doing good things for the world and making a difference in the lives of their customers, workers, communities and the environment. We are the only online grocer in Singapore with this certification. Read more here.
SUBSCRIPTION
Why do I need to pay a deposit for the 2-month notice subscription ?
At ShiokFarm, we commit to work with farmers on behalf of the community. You can cancel your subscription at any point in time, however for our most economical ‘Support Our Farmers’ programme, we will need two months' notice. This is why we require a $200 deposit. It will be given back to you, provided you give us this notice. If you do not, we will use it to support the farm while we are looking for someone to take over your share.
When is my credit card charged for my subscription ?
Once you have joined our Flexible or our Support Our Farmers programme, your credit card will automatically be charged every 4 weeks.
Do remember to give us a week’s notice if you want to stop your Flexible program, and 2 months notice for the Support Our Farmers programme.
How do I change my subscription ?
CAN I TRY BEFORE COMMITTING TO A SUBSCRIPTION?
What if I miss a delivery ?
Our bags are not refundable. If you know you are going to miss a delivery, please let us know and we will arrange to donate it to a charity. Alternatively, you can organise to give it to a friend: just login to our web site to arrange it. Select the ‘Holiday Form’ option, Pause Subscription, and enter the dates you are going on holiday.
SUBSCRIPTION ISN’T FOR ME, CAN I STILL SUPPORT FARMERS AND THE ENVIRONMENT BY BUYING FROM SHIOKFARM?
Yes! You can create your own bag by browsing our ShiokMarket - here we list the extra produce that the farms will be sending us that week. ShiokMarket is live every week between Thursday 5pm and Monday noon.
How do I close my account ?
Can you deliver fruit at my office ?
Yes! You can now receive bags of organic fruit delivered straight to your office, weekly - just check the Fruit@TheOffice section of our website. This allows you and your team to have healthy snacks at work, a nice alternative to chips and chocolate bars.
Note that this program only has a one-month notice.
LOGISTICS
What do I do with the empty bag ?
Please bring back your bag(s) to the Collection Point or give them back to our delivery team. Kindly make sure they are clean – as clean as you would like your bag to be – and folded. It is not our hosts’ job to fold them. 🙏
Are deliveries done at the same time every week ?
I work and cannot pick up my ShiokFarm bag
If you or the person who is usually collecting your bag cannot go to the Collection Point on your behalf, please make sure you get organised with another member to pick up your bag on time. Alternatively, you can subscribe to our home delivery service for an additional fee.
Kindly note that bags are not allowed to stay at the Collection Point outside of opening times. Collection Points are hosted with members who graciously give us two hours of their time, so that we can cut cost on storage. Hence our role is to be on time, and not use more of their time. 🙏
PRODUCTS
DOES THE BAG CONTAIN EXACTLY THE SAME PRODUCE EVERY TIME ?
Nope, we try to rotate the produce as much as we can. However, some items appear quite regularly: lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes (sweet and not), bananas and apples. We try as much as we can, to cover the Dirty Dozen.
We also try to follow the season. The rainy season offers less diversity of fruit and vegetables than the rest of the year.
In your account, update your “like” and “dislike” list, this will give your compost bin a break.
I NEED EXTRA PRODUCE BUT I DON’T WANT TO SUBSCRIBE TO ANOTHER BAG
We’ve got you covered. You can browse our ShiokMarket to add any other items to your order and we will deliver this along with your regular weekly bag. Our marketplace is open from Thursday afternoon to Monday noon.
What if I am sitting on a mountain of bananas and they are planned to be in my next bag ?
If you face this situation, you have three options:
- ask on Facebook which recipes other members have to share. You will be surprised with what you can do!
- once you have tried all the possible recipes, or if you do not feel adventurous, you can ask your WhatsApp group if a member is willing to exchange them for something you like. We really encourage exchange of produces between members as it works really well.
- You can give them to your neighbour, your security guard, a local charity.
Actually, you can do any of the above, just make sure they are not wasted.
One of the produce is rotten. What do I do ?
How should I store my organic fruit and vegetables ?
- In the fridge: salad and all leafy. Note that your salad, arugula, baby spinach might appreciate a 15 minutes bath in cold water. Once done, dry them well, wrap them in a kitchen towel and put them in the fridge. Eggplant, zucchinis, green beans will also love the freshness of your fridge.
- In a dark cupboard: potatoes and sweet potatoes.
- Outside, in a dish, but not in a plastic bag: tomatoes, onions, garlic, bananas, apples, pears.
- Red radishes and herbs: take a Tupperware, put some wet kitchen paper at the bottom (press the water out), put your herbs or red radishes, cover with another wet kitchen paper. They will live longer in your fridge.
- Unripen fruits/vegetables: wrap any unripen fruits in newspaper (as if you were wrapping a gift) and put them in a dark cupboard for 24 hours: it’s magic!
Feel free to share your tips with us: hello@shiokfarm.com
How do I know it's organic ?
What is the Dirty Dozen
The Dirty Dozen list is put together every year by the "Environmental Working Group" (EWG). It reveals the fruits and vegetables that are the most likely to be contaminated by pesticides. For example, a single strawberry can have as many as twenty different pesticides.
Click here to see the latest list
In Asia, we can add green leafy vegetables to the list. We have also tested on several occasions non organic bananas that were very high on nitrates (this is a fertiliser, not a pesticide, but as hazardous for humans' health when found in high quantities and when one is exposed to repeatedly).
We cannot wash or peel our way out of the problem. Washing removes some residues. Systemic pesticides are inside the produce and cannot be washed away.
At ShiokFarm, we really want every parent to be able to afford to feed their child with food that is as clean as possible. To support them, we have put the 5kg and the 7kg bags together. They focus on the Dirty Dozen produces. Note that both bags contain other organic produces to allow variety.