Saving Ugly Produce: How the Fruits and Vegetables We Throw Away Could Feed the World

It should shock all of us that here in the United States, food waste has reached crisis proportions. Not only do we throw out enough food to fill 44 skyscrapers each year, but a breathtaking amount of that tossed food is perfectly healthy, delicious fresh produce. About 1 in 5 fruits and vegetables grown in America (and one-third of the world’s produce) goes to waste, and 23% of all fruits and vegetables are wasted before they even reach grocery stores.

Why is this happening?

Usually, these fruits and vegetables are tossed for one simple and silly reason—they aren’t pretty enough. That’s right. These fruits and vegetables don’t meet the rigid standards of grocery stores, which are set at least in part by the standards of shoppers (that’s us!). Called “ugly produce,” these rejected apples and carrots and potatoes, etc., are either too small or too large, too stubby or too skinny, too oblong or too round. But they’re just as nutritious and delicious as their prettier counterparts. Overall, about  5 to 6 billion pounds of fresh, edible produce goes to waste before it hits grocery stores each year in the U.S.

All this waste is a huge problem on every level. Not only is the loss of so much perfectly edible food a moral tragedy in light of the more than 46.5 million Americans who struggle with having enough food to eat, but it’s also a gigantic environmental threat. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one quarter of all fresh water goes toward growing food that no one eats. With water scarcity a growing concern and drought is an ever-increasing problem, that number boggles the mind. Additionally, food waste accounts for 34% of all human-caused emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas responsible for destructive climate change.

Fortunately, about twenty organizations around the country—most of which have popped up in recent years—are scrambling to solve the problem.

Getting the Food to Those Who Need It

In recent years, an impressive number of new programs around the country have developed in hopes of recovering and redistributing excess produce to those in need. Some people refer to these kinds of efforts as “farm-to-food-bank.” In fact, according to a tally by Civil Eats, 20 official programs are now saving over 300 million pounds of produce a year. Still, only a small portion of all this excess food is going to feed people in need, and billions of pounds are still getting tossed.

Most programs whose mission is to redistribute excess produce to those who need it report recovering less than half of the excess produce in their areas. Yet, the fresh produce food banks receive from these redistribution programs is crucial, and increasingly so. Feeding America reports that many people now depend on food banks not just for emergencies, but for their daily calories. In order for farm-to-foodbank programs to succeed on a wider scale, more infrastructure and funding is needed for shipping totes, trucks, cold storage, etc. Meanwhile, perfectly good produce is left to rot.

If your area has a food-to-foodbank program in need of support, you may be able to volunteer or donate. At the end of this article, you’ll find a complete list compiled by Civil Eats.

Stores Showing Ugly Produce Some Love

One solution to reducing food waste comes from retailers like Whole Foods being willing to try selling less-than-perfect produce. Whole Foods recently agreed to work with Imperfect Produce on a pilot program to test sales of ugly produce in its Northern California stores. Already, Whole Foods purchases ugly produce for use in its prepared foods, smoothies, and juices. The success putting ugly produce on the shelves remains to be seen, but a Whole Foods spokesperson has said the store is committed to moving toward zero waste and sees this partnership with Imperfect as a means to do that.

“We can’t think of a better partner to launch this with,” Ben Simon of Imperfect told National Public Radio recently. “The ugly produce trend has taken off across the world, and our fingers are crossed that U.S. consumers will be just as excited.”

Reduce Your Food Waste at Home

Farm to Food Bank Programs Help Put an End to Hunger and Produce Waste in the U.S.