How To Sell Your Imperfect Vegetables

We’ve all heard the expression “nothing is perfect” or a variation of it, and we know what it means: Don’t expect [insert name of person, activity, etc.] to go according to plan every time. Most of us know there will be times when adjustments will be in order or a “plan B” will be necessary.

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Essentially, we have to be prepared for when life hands us lemons. For some of you, that can mean figuring out how to make “lemonade,” when some of your produce is misshapen or looks less than perfect. What can you do with product that isn’t considered “quality” based solely on how it looks and not on its nutritional value or great taste?

Many times, this type of produce is donated to food banks — and sometimes gets wasted — and you lose money when your ugly vegetables are not pretty enough to garner a spot on store shelves.

Thankfully, a market is being developed for these fruits and vegetables. American Vegetable Grower recently ran a story (http://is.gd/imperfectproduce) about a program designed to “save” ugly produce. Called Imperfectly Delicious Produce (IDP), the program, developed by Compass Group, launched in 2014. IDP now has partnerships with growers across the U.S. who are supplying the company with their less-than-good-looking vegetables.

What is IDP doing with the product? The group works with distributors who supply the fresh produce to catering facilities, schools, businesses, etc. IDP reportedly has saved thousands of pounds of produce.

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IDP is not alone. Other organizations are jumping on the bandwagon, according to an article on NPR.org. The group Hungry Harvest, a community supported ag business, sells boxes of imperfect produce at a reduced cost to institutional and residential customers in Maryland and Washington, DC. The group also donates a box of produce for every box sold.

The effort doesn’t end there. The article also mentions how some blemished produce made its way into stores in Northern California. Specifically, Andronico’s Community Markets, a five-store grocery chain, was selling produce oversupply from local growers in bins set up outside stores at a significant price reduction.

As many of you are faced with this issue, what solutions have you come up with to avoid wasting perfectly good vegetables? Drop me a line and let me know.

By finding a market for this type of produce, you are helping to reduce food waste. Plus, you are still able to feed your bottom line while providing others with healthy, nutritious food.
Now we just need to figure out a way to stop the waste in our own refrigerators, but that’s a topic for another day.

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