I just received my first order of produce from Imperfect Produce. Imperfect Produce is a new company that has partnered with California farms to source “ugly foods” that otherwise wouldn’t be sold. They sell and distribute the produce to Bay Area residents via their “produce boxes”. I signed up for the extra large organic box and received:
- 4 limes
- 4 pomegranates
- 1 shokichi shiro squash
- 1 garlic head
- 2 lbs of grapes
- 1 butternut squash
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- 1 bunch of parsley
- 2 lbs green peppers
- 2 honeydews
- 2 lbs oranges
- 2 bunches of kale
- 1 lb rainbow carrots
- 2 lbs red onions
- 2 lbs potatoes
- 2 lbs sweet potatoes
- 3 lbs yellow peaches
- 1 lb zucchini.
Guess what...it was all ORGANIC. And, it cost me a total of $52.19 including delivery to my front door!
I have signed up for a weekly delivery and can customize my box to add more of or exclude certain fruits and veggies. I can pause my weekly delivery whenever I want so that I am not paying for produce when I am on vacation or do not need the food.
This is revolutionary in the food movement!!! We are saying yes to weirdly shaped or colored produce that tastes delicious and would otherwise be thrown away. (Wait...how did we get to a point in our food system where that is revolutionary??)
I have taken some photos of my “ugly food” and have added some informative text to the photos. This was inspired by Lexicon of Food’s info art and my friend, Lizzy Elliot, who works there. I hope you enjoy!
Sources
Coleman-Jensen, Alisha, Rabbit, Matthew, Gregory, Christian, and Singh, Anita. 2015, Household Food Security in the United States in 2014. USDA. http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/1896841/err194.pdf
http://www.blog.imperfectproduce.com/blog-1/2016/7/5/why-imperfect-fights-to-end-food-waste
http://foodtank.com/news/2015/06/world-environment-day-10-facts-about-food-waste-from-bcfn
Gunders, Dana. 2012, Wasted: How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill. Natural Resource Defence Council. 12-06-B.