Food Tank sat down with Balderstone to discuss her work, the role of Ripe Organic in the community, and the growing demand for organic, local foods in the Arabian Peninsula region.
Organic food is growing in popularity in the UAE, aided by the ever-growing expatriate community. Ripe Organic is a store, farm network, and community organization that has been operating in the United Arab Emirates since 2011. Becky Balderstone, the founder, started the company as a delivery service for seasonal produce, but soon expanded with a popular series of farmer markets across the UAE, and is now supplemented by a brick-and-mortar grocery in Dubai. Ripe also leads a robust set of community initiatives, including school vegetable patches and menu-building with local chefs.
