On the outskirts of Barrie, Ont., sunlight washes over the outcast cucumber and parsley stacked on skids at Eat Impact香蕉视频直播檚 warehouse.
Workers at the online grocer sort and pack containers with these rejects and misfits 香蕉视频直播� tentacled carrots, scarred bananas, bulbous potatoes 香蕉视频直播� for home deliveries across southern Ontario.
香蕉视频直播淭he goal is helping people eat better, save money and fight food waste all at the same time,香蕉视频直播� said Anna Stegink, who founded Eat Impact in late 2022.
With prices soaring and budgets stretched, consumers are turning increasingly to so-called imperfect food to save on produce that a fresh crop of online grocers says is just as tasty 香蕉视频直播� if a little gnarled.
Billions of pounds of Canadian produce go to waste every year, much of it because it fails to live up to the strict cosmetic criteria adhered to by the retail industry.
香蕉视频直播淚t either rots in the fridge, the landfill or the farmer香蕉视频直播檚 field,香蕉视频直播� said Stegink.
Mainstream retailers sell primarily first-grade fruits and vegetables, leaving farmers and distributors stuck with heaps of fresh, perfectly edible but not quite photogenic produce.
Cucumbers, for example, must conform to tight length and width restrictions and be straight, only 香蕉视频直播渕oderately tapered香蕉视频直播� and of 香蕉视频直播済ood characteristic green colour香蕉视频直播� to achieve first grade classification, federal agricultural regulations state.
Meanwhile, grocery bills keep climbing. Canadian families will pay nearly $1,800 more on average for groceries this year than they did in 2022, according to an annual report on the food industry by researchers at four Canadian universities.
香蕉视频直播淧rioritizing eating healthy and buying this fresh produce has become harder for many of us,香蕉视频直播� Stegink said. 香蕉视频直播淥ur idea was to start Eat Impact to connect imperfect, ugly and surplus produce with people that are happy to eat it.香蕉视频直播�
She香蕉视频直播檚 not alone.
Further west, online grocer Spud says it saved nearly 84,000 pounds of imperfect produce from the landfill last year by selling everything from chipped apples to odd-shaped oranges across British Columbia香蕉视频直播檚 Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast as well as the Calgary and Edmonton areas.
Subscribers save up to 50 per cent on their items compared to traditional brick-and-mortar outlets, said manager Emma McDonald. They have the added benefit of eating the fresher food made possible by direct-to-doorstep delivery that bypasses the produce aisle. About 90 per cent of its inventory turns over within 48 hours, she said.
Given the savings, waste awareness and bent toward regional organic goods, it香蕉视频直播檚 no surprise that many subscribers skew younger.
香蕉视频直播淲e香蕉视频直播檙e serving families and multi-person households that are a bit busier, that are looking to save time or are prioritizing that organic, local aspect,香蕉视频直播� McDonald said, noting that Spud has offered imperfect produce for eight years 香蕉视频直播� though business has ramped up recently.
香蕉视频直播淎 lot of our customers are physically impaired and can香蕉视频直播檛 get to the grocery store themselves. And some people who might rely on takeout now have this option to make healthy meals that aren香蕉视频直播檛 hurting their wallets,香蕉视频直播� she added.
McDonald herself likes the bananas for smoothies 香蕉视频直播� 18 yellow ones for $5 in a recent deal 香蕉视频直播� and local grower Fraserland Organics香蕉视频直播� 香蕉视频直播淧ugly香蕉视频直播� potatoes, which Spud sells in five-pound bags for $6.
Many produce delivery services have relationships with nearby producers. Vicky Ffrench, who runs Cookstown Greens 香蕉视频直播� one of the 10 or so farms Eat Impact draws on directly 香蕉视频直播� said online grocers have fostered greater awareness that it香蕉视频直播檚 just as easy to enjoy a parsnip or parsley root that may not have grown to full size, or a potato that might look like a heart.
Spreading the word further remains one of the biggest challenges 香蕉视频直播� 香蕉视频直播渏ust educating the consumer that there are options for them to purchase groceries at a discounted price,香蕉视频直播� Ffrench said.
Odd Bunch, launched by 25-year-old Divy Ojha 18 months ago, offers seven different produce boxes up to once a week, gleaned from farms and greenhouses in southwestern Ontario, the Niagara region and the Eastern Townships of Quebec, though they also stock from Mexico and California, especially in winter.
The company recently launched in Ottawa, and serves most of the area between London, Ont. and Montreal.
It also offers foods that were produced in surplus as well as products that were 香蕉视频直播渟hort-coded香蕉视频直播� 香蕉视频直播� items packaged with an incorrect best-before date.
Toronto-resident Larissa Fitzsimons began buying Odd Bunch香蕉视频直播檚 fruit and veg two years ago before switching to Eat Impact, which she likes for the pick-and-choose flexibility of their drop-down menu for weekly boxes.
香蕉视频直播淚 don香蕉视频直播檛 care if it香蕉视频直播檚 oddly shaped or whatever, it doesn香蕉视频直播檛 really impact me. If someone香蕉视频直播檚 willing to give that to you at a discount, that香蕉视频直播檚 great savings,香蕉视频直播� Fitzsimons said.
The local source of many items meshes with her environmentalism, but she also relishes items from far afield.
香蕉视频直播淚t gets you to try different things,香蕉视频直播� she said, highlighting that she first sampled a persimmon thanks to the service. Now she香蕉视频直播檚 a regular buyer of the sweet fruit.
Most big-box grocers offer discounts on goods that are nearing their best-before date. But often the produce is 香蕉视频直播減retty far gone,香蕉视频直播� Fitzsimmons said. 香蕉视频直播淵ou香蕉视频直播檙e not really going to buy soft potatoes.香蕉视频直播�
But knobby ones with a blemish or two?
香蕉视频直播淥h yeah.香蕉视频直播�
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