Can I try one week before I commit to a recurring order?

Yes you can, but we prefer new customers to try a subscription for a minimum of a month. There's so much variation that just one order will not give you an accurate picture of the Cultivate Christchurch experience.

What’s in the box?

On Thursday afternoons you can find out what is in the different sized box or bag for the week ahead. We also include this in our weekly email, so please make sure you sign up to our email newsletter. We send one email per week, which includes other important news about changes to deliveries/collections etc. Or you can also check online for 'what's in the box'. This is on our shop page, scroll down and you'll find the list of items in the subscription box that week. If you originally opted out you can subscribe here.

Can I ask not to have a certain item in the box?

We don’t offer substitution items as it would add extra costs for admin and labour, which we avoid to keep prices low for our customers. But for collection customers we do have a swap box, where you can exchange an item of veg for something you prefer. Please swap the entire portion (all the onions from your box, or all the carrots, say) for another entire portion.

How do I subscribe for a weekly or fortnightly veggie box?

It's simple, just sign up here! Make sure you also sign up for our weekly email newsletter, to find out what's fresh in the online shop each week. If you've signed up for a veggie box, then you'll be trusting the farmer to fill it with delicious organic veggies of their choice each week. You can also check online for 'what's in the box'. This is on our shop page, scroll down and you'll find the list of items in the subscription box that week.

Logging into your account to manage your orders

Go to: https://cultivate.org.nz/ and select the person icon in the top right corner

How do I change my address?

How do I change my delivery method?

How do I change the frequency of my orders?

How can I update my payment card?

How can I skip orders while I'm on holiday?

How do I change my bag size? eg from a small to a medium etc.

Can I pause the orders for a longer period of time?

How do I cancel my subscription?

How does the online shop work? Or why can’t I see anything in the shop?

The online shop operates with weekly availability updates and a harvest to order process, so we only open the shop at around 3pm on Thursday afternoons, with the available fresh produce for the week ahead. Then the cut off for orders for that week is Monday morning 10am. So, Thursday afternoon to Monday morning is the time you can visit the online shop to place your order. Outside of those times you’ll see a blank page, as the shop is not open.

What's the difference between custom orders and subscription orders?

Subscription orders are automated with a direct debit payment being processed each week/fortnight. The beauty of this is that once your order is set up you just sit back and relax and don't have to think about veggie shopping each week. You can still easily manage your orders, skipping those you may not need if you're on holiday etc, via the 'Manage your Account' section of the website. You also get to enjoy a lot of variety of veggies in the subscription model, plus the surprise of what you'll get in your box each time. Many of our customers testify how much they love this aspect. Plus they say it's a great in helping expand their cooking repertoire, to be more creative and adaptable, and that cooking becomes more enjoyable as a result. Custom orders allow you to choose specific veggies yourself, as and when you need them. So if you have more specific preferences or dietary requirements this may suit you better. The nature of this means it cannot be automated though, so you have to place an order yourself each time. The custom order shop is open from Thursday 3pm, through til Monday 10am, to place your order for the week ahead.

When can I collect my order?

Collection times are Wednesday: 2.30pm - 6pm. Except weeks with a public holiday on a Monday, then collections happen on Thursdays.

When should I expect my delivery to arrive?

Deliveries will happen on Wednesday for Christchurch Central and CBD customers, and on Thursday for wider Christchurch and Canterbury towns customers. Please note that for weeks with a public holiday Monday, collections and deliveries ALL happen on Thursday.

Where do you deliver to? And how much do deliveries cost?

Our delivery categories and locations are as follows: Central CBD, $3.50 Within the 4 Aves Central Christchurch, $4.50 8011, 8013, 8014, 8022, 8023, 8024, 8025, 8041, 8042, 8052, 8053, 8061, 8062, 8083 Wider Christchurch and Canterbury Towns, $7.00 8051, 8081, 8082, 7670, 7676, 7686, 8971, 8972, 7618, 7483, 7772

What should I do if there's a problem with my order/delivery/produce?

Contact us as soon as possible (preferably by email to veggies@cultivate.org.nz, or call 021 1955 680) and we'll do our best to fix the issue for you.

Where do you get your produce?

We grow approximately 50-70% of the produce for your orders ourselves on our Peterborough St and Halswell sites. For additional produce that we buy in from other organic farmers we’re committed to ordering as locally as practicable. Most of the year we can supply the majority of this bought in produce from Canterbury and Otago. During the depths of winter and during the hungry gap we source some produce from the North Island, and very occasionally from overseas.

Do you use plastic packaging?

We minimise packaging use as much as possible, so we bunch the likes of spinach, kale, chard, herbs etc. Salad leaves & micro greens are some things that do need additional packaging to keep fresh though. And for these we use compostable bags and pottles. You can either dispose of these in a home composting system, or return them to us, so we can compost them. They should not go into the council green bins as they will be extracted and put into general waste as currently their sorting systems cannot differentiate between the different types of plastic/compostable bag products. We only use compostable plastic for packing your orders.

Can I return the boxes to you?

Yes, we welcome back our boxes for reuse, so long as they are still in good condition. You can leave these out for the delivery company and they will bring the boxes back to us for reuse. Please remove any old packing slips before flattening them and leaving them out for collection.

Is your produce organic?

All produce is either grown on our farms chemical-free and as close to organic standards as our urban setting allows or is Organically Certified. We buy in some produce to fill out the range, this comes from Organic Certified Local Farms only.

Why does organic food cost more?

Sustainable, organic produce tends to cost more than conventional produce. However, we believe that ‘cheap’ conventionally grown food simply means that the ‘cost’ is passed further down the system either by large-scale farming and distribution systems that are highly damaging to the environment, or by giving far less to farmers and their staff. The organic farming process is generally more human-intensive and more land must be given to crops grown organically to avoid the use of pesticides and fertilisers. Additionally, we don’t haggle for a cheaper price with the farmers we buy our produce from (unlike supermarkets, other conventional retailers, or places where you see cheap food). The cheaper price has to be absorbed somewhere, and all too often this pressure gets put on the small farmer, who are often operating on very low margins as it is. Overall, one of the advantages of supporting local food and buying from an organisation like Cultivate, is that more of the money from your veggie purchases goes directly to the farmer (whether it’s to us, or one of our other local farmers), rather than $ being lost in a longer-supply chain or to wholesalers. We also commit to paying a Living Wage to all our staff. Your purchases are therefore fairer to farmers, our staff and the environment. The other advantage of our organisation is that we are not for profit, rather than commercial, so we invest any surplus in advancing the aims of our organisation.