Ugly Food

There is a major trend in this country to not waste so much food.  This is an admirable goal since hunger in the United States is appallingly rampant.  You would think that one of the most affluent countries in the world would be able to feed its citizens.  But that is another topic. The problem is complex and there are no easy answers.  But obviously, we need to get more food in the hands of people.  There is no food shortage here;  there is food waste.  

One thing I have discovered is a service that offers ‘ugly’ and imperfect items directly to the consumer.  And they are delivered right to your door!  There is absolutely nothing wrong with these items, except they are not pretty enough to be sold on today’s supermarket shelves.  This imperfection bothers me not in the least.  Remember, I grew up on a farm.  Not all the things we took out of the garden or picked from trees or berry bushes were worthy to be on a magazine cover.  But they were still good, nutritious food.  And organic.  We seldom used pesticides or weedkillers.  

I am happy someone has finally had the foresight to offer items like these for sale,  items that would normally be thrown away because they had grown crooked, were too small or too large, or the color was not as perfect as today’s shoppers demand.  

There are actually several options on the market, but I have settled on a company called Misfits Market.  The way they are packed for shipping, which is very important to me, is great.  No damage to the sometimes-delicate foodstuffs inside the box!  There is very little plastic, which we should all appreciate.  It seems that most packing materials are recyclable.  There are lots of choices for what you want to receive in your box and everything is organic, so no worries about commercial pesticides or fertilizers.  

I have bought from this company for several weeks now and, I must say, I am not disappointed.  If you are interested in doing your part in helping to reduce food waste, check out Misfits Market.  I hope you like it.