Welcome Back BFB Legends!

Pomegranate season is here and we have a fresh batch arriving Wednesday. Those jewel-bright little gems, the sweet-tart flavour — and honestly, cracking one open with the kids is half the fun!

🥗 Pomegranate, Spinach & Feta Salad (On the table in 10 minutes)

You’ll need:

• 2 big handfuls of baby spinach
• Seeds of 1 pomegranate
• ½ cup crumbled fetta (try our new mungalli brand!)
• A handful of toasted walnuts or pecans
• 1 small red onion, finely sliced
• A few sprigs of fresh mint

Dressing:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
• 1 tsp honey
• Salt & pepper

Toss it all together, drizzle over the dressing and serve straight away. Beautiful alongside grilled chicken or fish, or just with some good sourdough on the side. Simple food at its best.

Start Your Order

New Loco Chocs!

🍫 Two new treats just landed in the shop…

We’re SO excited to introduce two brand new @locolovechocolate bars — and honestly, we may have already eaten our way through the testers 😅

🌿 Pistachio Mylk Praline — Silky pistachio ganache dotted with lightly caramelised pistachio pieces — creamy and crunchy all at once. Enrobed in Loco Love’s signature mylk chocolate and spiked with tremella beauty mushroom. It’s indulgent, it’s gorgeous, and it’s good for you too.

🍁 Maple Macadamia Caramel — Rich dark chocolate (48.5% cacao) wrapped around a dreamy macadamia caramel with a kiss of maple syrup and a pinch of Australian sea salt. This one is dangerously good.

Both are:
✅ Vegan & gluten free
✅ No refined sugar
✅ Made with organic ingredients

Go Loco

✨ New Pickup Spot in Bello – Alchemy!

Great news for our legends in Thora, Kalang, Brierfield, Valery & Hydes Creek 🌿
We’ve just added a new pickup location in Bellingen at Alchemy in Bellingen.

📦 Pickup Details:

• Available Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday
• Driver arrives around 1pm
• We kindly ask for prompt pickup once your box arrives 🙏

🌿 About Alchemy
Alchemy is a beautiful local wellness space offering a range of nourishing services for body and mind. If you haven’t checked them out yet, it’s well worth a look.
👉 alchemyinbellingen.com.au

• Holistic health & wellness services
• Bodywork & treatments
• Community-focused healing space

Alchemy is the place to go for a little self-care 💚

Limited Stock Arrived! — Patch Chicken

If you’ve been waiting on this one, today’s your day 🙌 We’ve just received a fresh delivery of certified organic, pastured chicken from Levenvale Farm right here in Bellingen — and stock is very limited, so get in quick!

Here’s what’s available today:
🌭 Sausages   🥩 Chicken Mince   🌿 Sausage Mince   🍗 Nibbles   🦴 Frames

A little backstory… 💬
Many of you have noticed The Patch Organics chicken has been hard to come by lately. The farm has been facing the very real possibility of their abattoir closing, which has made supply really uncertain. They’re actively working on finding other options and we’re right behind them — this is exactly the kind of local, ethical producer we want to support for the long haul!

So when stock comes in, it goes FAST. Today is one of those days!

You must try the sausages & sausage mince!
Simple list of quality ingredients only:

• ✅ Spray free apples
• ✅ Organic ginger
• ✅ Organic turmeric
• ✅ Organic onion & garlic
• ✅ Organic basil
• ✅ Salt & pepper

No fillers. No numbers. No nasties.

Shop Chook

Did ya have a nice Easter? 🐣

We had a very relaxing few days — some beach camping, wandering the Bundagen garden, and SUP’ing at Boambee Creek ❤️

Only WED & THU Deliveries This Week

Due to Easter Monday — 📦 NO Tuesday deliveries this week.

🥦 Wednesday Delivery — Order closes TONIGHT at 8pm!

We’re delivering tomorrow to the south, including: Bellingen, Gleniffer, east to Raleigh, Urunga & Hungry Head, and south to Valla Beach, Hyland Park, Nambucca, Macksville, Scotts Head, South West Rocks & Kempsey.

🚚 Pickup hubs:

• 📍 Nourish Café – Valla Beach
• 📍 Norco Macksville – Bowraville & Taylors Arm
• 📍 Eungai Rail General Store – Eungai & surrounds
• 📍 Wholesome House – South West Rocks
• 📍 Finding Grace Wellness – Kempsey, Crescent Head & surrounds

🚚 Thursday Delivery — Order closes Wednesday night at 8pm!

Thursday we cover our usual north run PLUS this week we’re also picking up the Tuesday areas north of Woolgoolga: Bellingen, Dorrigo, Repton, Mylestom, Bonville, Sawtell, Toormina, Boambee, Coffs Harbour, Korora, Sapphire Beach, Moonee Beach, Emerald Beach, Sandy Beach, Woolgoolga, Safety Beach, Mullaway, Arrawarra & Corindi.

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Have a healthy and happy week,

Sarah & Django and the Bello Box crew 😍

Is Bello Beef Certified Organic or Not?

From Georgina at Bello Beef.

Recently, Georgina received a great question in her DMs (which she always welcomes):

“Why is your beef not Certified Organic, but raised on Certified Organic land?”

The response is:

Good question!..  The main reason is that the abattoir and butchery Bello Beef use aren’t certified organic. Bello Beefs cattle are raised organically and the farm itself is certified, but once the animals go through processing at a non-certified facility, that certification can’t carry through.

Bello Beef choose to use their local abattoir because it’s closer, less stressful for the animals, and much more affordable. Unfortunately, small-scale farmers like them don’t get much support from abattoirs when it comes to certification – they simply aren’t interested in the extra steps.

The second factor is cost. Getting the butchery certified and using the official stamp would mean thousands of extra dollars every year, and as a small farm business, that’s a big hurdle. It’s definitely on their ‘dream list,’ but they’re not there yet.

In fact, Bello Beef have even considered letting the farm certification lapse because of the ongoing expense. But they are people who also shop for organic products, and therefore feel that certification sets an important baseline for transparency.

What they feel matters most is their practices. Certification doesn’t always tell the full story. Bello Beef are always happy to share how they manage pest burdens, weeds, grazing, and animal care – these are the principles that matter most to them.

So yes, Bello beef is grown on a certified organic farm, but it doesn’t carry the ‘Certified Organic’ label unless they send our cattle an extra 200 km away to Casino for processing and pay to have the butchery certified as well.

This also goes for our organically raised chicken.

That’s why it’s so important to know your farmer and hear the story behind your food!

Is Apeel used on our produce?

Some of you may have heard about a product called Apeel – a plant-based, edible coating developed in the U.S. to help extend the shelf life of fruit and veg by reducing water loss and oxidation. You can read more at apeel.com.

Our larger suppliers have checked in with Australia’s two main organic certification bodies – ACO Certification Ltd and Southern Cross Certified – and both have confirmed that Apeel has not been assessed or approved for use in any certified organic supply chains in Australia.

They have also spoken with Australian Organic Ltd (our industry peak body) and will share any new updates as soon as we have them.

Of course, our produce comes from small-scale local organic growers who would never have a need for coatings like this – it’s fresh from the farm to your box, just as nature intended!

For now, the most accurate answer is:
“To our knowledge, Apeel is not approved for organic production in Australia, and no certified Australian organic grower is using it.”

Bursting with jewel-like seeds and sweet-tart flavour, fresh pomegranates are here!
Packed with antioxidants, vitamin C, and a serious splash of colour, they’re perfect for sprinkling over salads, breakfast bowls, or just enjoying by the handful.

Hi Bello Boxer!

Doesn’t it feel like we’re all starting to grow webbed feet? 🦆 The rain just keeps coming, and everything’s feeling a little soggy around the edges!

But it’s not all grey skies — we’ve got some lovely new fruit arriving this week to bring a bit of colour and sweetness to your days. 🍑🍓

And with back-to-school here, it’s the perfect time to stock up on fresh lunchbox snacks — crunchy kid-sized apples, juicy carrots, and plenty more to keep those little tummies happy. 🍎🎒

🍈 Fruit & Veg Update

• ⭐️ Limited fresh-picked Star Fruit available.
• ❤️ Organic Dragonfruit and Pomegranates are in!
• 🍊 Ruby Red Grapefruit from Bundagen freshly arrived.
• 🍅 Grape Cherry Tomatoes arriving Tuesday.
• 🌿 Celery unavailable this week — but Fennel is back!

Stay cosy, and thanks for sticking with us through the seasons. 💚

🥜 Nuts Re-Stocked!

We’re all restocked with our range of organic nuts — fresh, crunchy, and perfect for snacking, baking, or topping your breakfast bowls. Grab your favourites while they’re here!

Notably — Choc coated ginger is back! 😋

Check the Nut Range

🍗 Make Your Own Chicken Stock

We’re excited to have The Patch Organics organic chicken frames back in stock!

Simple Homemade Organic Chicken Stock

Ingredients:

• 1 Patch organic chicken frame 🐓
• 1 carrot, roughly chopped 🥕
• 1 small onion, quartered 🧅
• 1 celery stalk or handful of greens 🌿
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed 🧄
• A few sprigs of herbs (parsley, thyme) 🌿
• ½ tsp salt 🧂
• 6–8 cups cold water 💧

Instructions:

1. Pop everything into a large pot and cover with cold water.
2. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a low simmer.
3. Skim off any foam in the first 30 minutes.
4. Simmer slowly for 3–4 hours. ⏳
5. Strain, season to taste, and store in jars or freeze for later! ❄️

✨ Optional: For deeper flavour, roast the chicken frame at 200°C for 20–30 mins before simmering.

View Chicken Range

🥚 Eggs Shortage Update

You might’ve noticed organic eggs are a little thin on the ground at the moment!

With Yamstick Eggs closing, there are fewer local organic eggs around. New chickens are ordered but won’t start laying until August. 📅

Feed prices have jumped too, adding to the squeeze — this week’s eggs have already sold out. We’ve put a 1 dozen per customer limit in place to keep it fair.

Thanks for rolling with us — better egg days are ahead! 💛

♻️ Remember Your Empties

Let’s do our bit for the environment and remember to leave out your empty Bello Boxes on delivery days.

The re-use is a major win-win — it helps the planet and keeps our costs down. Thanks! 🙏

Order Now

Does Bello Beef vaccinate their cattle with mRNA?

The team at Bello Beef get this question a LOT, so here is the answer we as Bello Food Box have reposted from Bello Beef. If you have any further questions, please contact Bello Beef directly.

The following is written by the Bello Beef Team of Levenvale Organic Farm:

The answer is not a simple one, but to explain our position here’s an overview. PLEASE don’t quote me on any of this information, it’s self-researched! Happy to discuss further if anyone wants to contact me directly.

We do not vaccinate our cattle with the “mRNA” vaccine.

Sometimes I get asked if we use the “covid” vaccine on our cattle; what this refers to (I assume), is an MRNA vaccine, a new technology vaccine (same technology as the COVID vaccine). The NSW Govt has announced (last year) that they have invested in MRNA vaccine development for livestock diseases (to be ready by August 2023). These are likely to be used for an outbreak of Lumpy Skin Disease. The other “threatening” disease is Foot & Mouth Disease (which has never been in Australia). FMD has a current “live virus” vaccine sitting in the UK (as the “live” virus is not permitted to be stored in Australia). LSD doesn’t have a current vaccine, hence the discussion around an MRNA vaccine. If either of these diseases get into Australia, there will be major disruption to the cattle industry – there are plans to prevent the spread, eliminate the risk, should the disease/s spread to Aussie shores. Whether the government will mandate a vaccine at that stage or at any stage is not known.

Here at Levenvale Farm, we would opt NOT to vaccinate with the mRNA vaccine and I believe/hope it would not be mandated, particularly for organic producers with domestic consumption only. My interpretation is that the vaccine will keep export markets open for the beef industry (in the case of an outbreak). Any country that has these livestock diseases, doesn’t export. Australia exports 70% of the cattle grown here. You can make your own assumptions, I‘m just relaying what I have read and discussed with various people in the industry.

Whilst on the topic of vaccines, there are many many other vaccines available to cattle.

We routinely use one at weaning – it’s a non-GMO vaccine called 5in1, which is approved under our organic certification. This protects our young cattle from enterotoxaemia (pulpy kidney disease), tetanus, black disease, malignant oedema (blackleg-like disease).

Perhaps like you, since COVID, we have been asking lots of questions and similarly we are now questioning how essential the use of this 5in1 in our young cattle actually is. We have begun trials with small numbers of our herd NOT administering this 5in1, and I have consulted with holistic vets around the risks for the animals and we hope to transition out of using it. We have a very strong focus on ethical animal treatment, and watching animals become sick or even die from disease isn’t something we take lightly. We have (years ago) had an outbreak of Pesti-virus and lost many of our cattle. Pesti-Virus is preventable (so they say) from another vaccine, however we don’t use this routinely. We did use it in 2020 to save our herd.

There are many health burdens for which farmers broadly vaccinate or medicate their entire herd cattle (Liver Fluke, Pink Eye, Worms, Parasites.. the list goes on) that we proudly do not. We will however medicate sick animals if and when they require it.

Over the past couple of years we have “closed” our mob, so we don’t buy cattle from other areas (cattleyards etc) and therefore we don’t expose our cattle to other contagious health risks. We are managing our land and our cattle to prevent health issues eg, allowing pastures to rest, breaks the life cycle of many parasites. We are seeing a fantastic improvement in our cattle’s health each year (touch wood).

That’s a quick overview, hope it answers some questions. It’s all very vague out there until an outbreak. Let’s hope there’s not one. When and if I have access to more information I will happily share it.

Resposted from Georgina (& Sam) of Bello Beef