Americans waste food. A lot of food. Close to half of all produce grown in this country is thrown away without being eaten. That equals 60 million tons of fruit and vegetables, at a cost of $160 million to American consumers. While spoilage is an inevitable part of the food production and shipping process, a lot of so-called imperfect produce is thrown out due to our modern obsession with aesthetically perfect produce.
Grocers often remove any fruits or vegetables with blemishes, and shoppers tend to go for the perfect specimens rather than those with spots that can be easily peeled off or cut away. Luckily, new delivery service Imperfect Produce is stepping in to deliver the “ugly” produce to shoppers at a fraction of grocery store prices – and it’s coming to San Antonio.
Imperfect Produce’s business model is pretty simple. The company sources the imperfect or aesthetically unappealing produce farms throw out – produce which tastes the exact same as the “beautiful” specimens sent to stores. Those fruits and veggies are then boxed and delivered to customers at prices 30% to 50% below store prices.
Imperfect Produce features a rotating selection of seasonal produce, and customers can choose their box size and which fruits and vegetables they want in their boxes each week. The company was started by Ben Simon and Ben Chesler as an offshoot of Simon’s Food Recovery Network, a nonprofit which reduced food waste on the University of Maryland campus. Now, Imperfect Produce is doing its part to reduce food waste in some of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Chicago, and now San Antonio.
Imperfect Produce will begin delivering in San Antonio on August 27. Head on over to their website to get signed up, and do you part to cut back on food waste while also reducing your food costs.
