Imperfect Produce

[K Frame]

I just signed up. If you've not heard of it, it's a company that sells perfectly good produce that hasn't been accepted by retailers and the like because of imperfections, color variations, etc.

Most of that produce apparently ends up going to waste.

I like it because you can pick exactly what you want in the box, and one of the things that I want is... beets. I can get beets here in Northern Virginia, but they're organic and normally $5 for 3... beets. Yeah, no.

They have a lot of stuff other than produce, and the prices are surprisingly good.

My first box is coming on Friday. I'll report back then on how it was.


If anyone wants to sign up, shoot me an PM with your e-mail and I'll "refer" you. That way we can both get money off.

[K Frame]

Got my first box yesterday.

I've got to say... the produce I got (beets, romaine hearts, potatoes, brussels sprouts, onions, and limes) look one hell of a lot better than the stuff I'm seeing in my local chain grocery store.

[sumpnz]

My biggest issue with that kind of thing is that much of that produce goes to food banks and Gleaner organizations.  If it becomes trendy to buy it that's a source of cheap/free food that other folks will lose.

[MillCreek]

Several years back, on my way to lecture at the annual meeting of the state medical society in Wenatchee, Washington, I stopped in Cashmere and took a tour of a Treetop apple processing facility.  This area is ground zero for apple production in Washington.

I recall that they had several ways of grading apples for sale.  At the very top were apples of a particular type, size, shape and appearance that were shipped by air to Japan to be sold individually as gifts.  Then came various grades for sale to grocery stores, then came institutional and restaurant whole apple sales, then came apples for pies and other food products using sliced or diced apples, then at the bottom were apples used for juice, applesauce and puree.  Apple pomace, pulp, cores and skins were sold for animal and livestock feed.  I was impressed with how they found a use for pretty much every apple.

[castle key]

..... and the apples' squeak.

[Scout26]

Everything except the "Moo", as my Dad would say. 

[K Frame]

My biggest issue with that kind of thing is that much of that produce goes to food banks and Gleaner organizations.  If it becomes trendy to buy it that's a source of cheap/free food that other folks will lose.

Worse, even more of that kind of produce goes either to landfills or is plowed under. In either case, it's totally wasted.

According to UNESCO (from the IP page) in this country alone roughly 20 billion pounds of fruit and produce are wasted that way every year.

I'll be perfectly honest, though... I didn't sign up out of some sense of social justice. I signed up as a possible way of getting fresh beets.

Yes, I can get fresh beets here in DC metro... but most of the stores only carry organic, and the price is... obscene. $4 for a bundle of 3 small beets. I'm thinking seriously that my next box in 2 weeks is going to be all beets.