Innovation Hub

SUSTAINABLY SOURCED

By Connie Mitchell

Farmers and avid gardeners know the truth: Not all potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and other vegetables come out of the ground or off the plant looking grocery-store perfect.

In fact, the beautiful specimens we’re used to seeing in supermarket produce sections are (no pun intended) the cream of the crop in terms of appearance, while their equally nutritious but misshapen or oddly colored counterparts may get shunted aside by large manufacturers seeking conformity and customer satisfaction.

Visit any of the greater metro area’s farmers markets this year, and you’ll find examples of seasonal produce that exhibits a wide array of sizes, shapes and colors. Some of these disparate – and even slightly entertaining – fruits and veggies are heirloom varieties that fell from favor in part due to their unusual and inconsistent appearance. But give them a try, and you’ll find they are often flavorful and healthy additions to your table.

In fact, as more people have discovered the value and flavor of “ugly produce” in recent years, companies have sprung up to capitalize on that discovery. For example, San Francisco-based Imperfect Foods and New Jersey-based Misfits Market are national companies that offer a boxed subscription service to metro area customers. These companies and others like them purchase surplus produce – the items that don’t make the supermarket beauty cut – from farmers and send them to subscribers, often at a discount over supermarket prices.

Locally, some retailers also are embracing the ugly produce trend. Local Harvest Grocery, located at 3108 Morgan Ford Road in St. Louis, states: “We try to limit food waste when and where we can. We sell ugly, blemished or otherwise imperfect produce at discount as ‘inglorious,’ following [French supermarket chain] Intermarché’s example. We donate excess inventory to area food banks. Products that cannot be sold or donated are ultimately composted when possible, not trashed.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that about 31 percent of the nation’s food supply goes uneaten and that the equivalent of about a pound of food per person is wasted each day in America. This waste means that resources such as water, land and fertilizer used to grow food crops are applied to items that ultimately rot, so some people concerned with environmental issues also favor purchasing ugly produce to help reduce negative environmental effects.

Whether you purchase ugly produce or not, controlling food waste by buying only what your household will actually consume, freezing leftover portions that may otherwise go to waste and composting scraps are additional ways to help your pocketbook and the planet. ln