A big thanks to my friend Heather who shared this video and article about a grocery store in France on a mission to reduce food waste with me.
Intermarche, a large grocery store chain in France, is taking food waste into their own hands. Instead of only buying the “perfect” looking fruits and veggies {which as any gardener knows, leaves a lot of “imperfect” waste}, they are buying up the stuff the farmers would have thrown out. They mark it down, give it its own showcase in the store, and then watch as people buy it up. They also create in-house juices and soups with it, which apparently fly off the shelves. Genius, I tell ya.
I wish they would do something like that here in America {Maybe they do? Does anyone know of a grocery store that sells the ugly fruits and veggies?} In America, the average family wastes about 25% of the food they throw out. That roughly equates to $1500 dollars a year just getting tossed into the trash.
Click HERE and check out my food waste experiment. Trust me, if you haven’t read about it, your mind will be blown.
Food waste is one of those things that just kills me–especially quality, nutrient packed food. I go to some pretty serious lengths to make sure food doesn’t go to waste around here. For one, I organize my fridge so that things don’t get lost in the abyss. Fruits and vegetables that are about to go bad get pureed and frozen for smoothies, soups, etc. And while I am terrible at meal planning, it DOES cut down on waste. Plain and simple. {Check out my tips on reducing food waste for more ideas.}
I thought this was another genius solution to a HUGE global problem. I would totally buy the misshapen fruits and vegetables–especially at a discount. How about YOU?
~Mavis
tc says
I think it is a great idea, I already get all the vegetable food waste from my co op, I make soups, or puree the fruit for smoothies or fruit leather, yesterday I made dehydrated strawberry chips from 3 boxes of strawberries they were throwing out because one or two were soft. I also got 4 cartons of micro greens at their sell by and 8 cartons of persian cucumbers ( my neighbors got some of those and they give me jams and canned fruit or walnut breads) I traded 80 my very hot peppers, some home made soups and stewed tomato’s with my local butcher for sausages and NY steaks. I give to my doctors office and they make a donation to the local charity I work with. If it is really too gone then my chickens or worms get it. There is no need for food waste.
Last week I got 10 free heads of organic lettuce, some free shallots and I already had peas that I had been given if I picked them which I then froze plus mint from the garden so I made lettuce, pea and mint soup so delicious and here is the recipee
Lettuce, pea and mint soup
A good soup for a summer’s day, bright green and not too filling. Serves 4.
a large, round lettuce about 400g
a thick slice of butter
2 shallots
500g shelled peas
stock – chicken, vegetable or water
3 bushy sprigs mint
Separate the lettuce leaves and stalks and wash thoroughly. Any grit will ruin the soup. Melt the butter in a deep saucepan over a low to moderate heat. Peel the shallots and slice them thinly, then let them soften in the butter. When they are tender but have yet to colour, chop the lettuce up a bit and stir it into the butter. As soon as it has wilted, tip in the peas, the stock and the mint leaves and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down, season with salt and black pepper, and leave to simmer for no longer than 7 to 10 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and blend the soup till smooth in a liquidiser. Check the seasoning then serve hot.
JoAnn C. says
My local farmers market has a “scratch and dent” section where very ripe produce ends up at a reduced cost. I love that area and go there first since you can get piles of veggies for about 30% of the price. I have never seen the “healthy but ugly” veggies anywhere which is a shame since they taste the same. It says something about the American mindset that there is something wrong with these types of items when in reality they have the same nutritional value. I wish I was as good as Mavis at saving everything, but I do try my best to compost my older fruits and veggies into my garden so at least those items “give back”.
Jen F says
I think this is a super idea. One time at a chain grocery store, I picked up a head of organic broccoli that looked a little bit off, feeling sorry for the veggies that do not conform to norms. Fast forward to when I got to use it, it was totally infested with aphids. In researching, it appears that the bugs choose to inhabit the weaker plants. So, buyer beware on that one. There were way too many bug (multi-generations I believe) to just salt-water rinse out! Thanks Mavis for the challenging articles!
Maggie G. says
Hi Mavis – I’ve only recently found your blog and absolutely LOVE it.
I’m on the east coast, and to answer your question, Shop Rite has routinely sold their dent veggies and fruits for dirt cheap. I think Stop-n-Shop does too, but it’s been a while since I’ve been there. Now I live near a Wegmans, and I *suspect* they cut up and repackage the veggies that might be going soon as “cut, washed, and ready-to-cook” packs that tempt me into making easy sides for my family. Wouldn’t be upset if they did though, as most of Wegman’s dent stuff is nicer than the good stuff they sell at other stores.
Sarah says
I’m on the east coast and like Maggie, I’ve seen “imperfect” fruit marked down at stop and shop. I use to buy them for baby food stuff. I also know of a local market that uses the imperfect stuff in their kitchen, using it in soups, hot foods and other places where they can to save cost.
Cecily says
My local produce stand sells only grade B produce. Everything they get comes from grocery store and farmer rejects and is priced accordingly (I bought a pint of heirloom cherry tomatoes last week for 89 cents and avocados at 3/$1). Not the prettiest stuff but still perfectly good and what they don’t sell goes to a local guy who raises livestock.
Mavis Butterfield says
I think that’s awesome Cecily! Feel free to leave a link!
Ranee says
I would gladly purchase “less pretty” fruit and veg if our stores provided it. On the other hand, when my store sells cherries at 8.99 a pound, I’m just not going to purchase them at all, But, if I felt compelled, believe me, I’m going to go for the prettiest healthiest cherries I can find. Price is relevant regardless. My only hope, every so often they will bag up huge bags of “too ripe” bananas for .99. I do purchase when available. We can usually get out at least an average size bunch to eat fresh and I chop up the rest and freeze to use for smoothies and banana bread.
CathyB says
Our local Fred Meyer has a small shelf of reduced price produce, mainly fruit, and I have gotten some good deals in the past. Lately however, all they seem to have on it is bananas. I hope they pick it back up again. I would totally buy the “less pretty” produce and I don’t mind cutting out the occasional bad spot. But I don’t want to pay the same price for a piece of fruit that I have to cut around as I do for top quality.
Mavis Butterfield says
I’ll have to look the next time I’m at Freddys. Thanks CathyB.
Shari Harniss says
My local Kroger has a small mark down area in the produce dept. I get bags of beautiful red, orange, yellow and green bell peppers for $1, bring them home and slice and freeze. I buy an extra bag for a neighbor who really likes orange ones. I’ve gotten other veggies and fruit, too. I LOVE to see marked down produce!
Trish K says
I was thinking this very thing yesterday! I had a hard time picking out 4 unbruised nectarines from a big pile. I wondered what they do with the bruised fruit. I would totally buy it at a discount and cut it up to freeze or make something out of.
Sue M. says
This is a subject dear to my heart. I can remember my grandmother telling me about the great depression, the war, and the rationing, of sugar, flour, etc…. I was brought up to not waste anything. I was also a child of “your’s, mine, and ours” of a family of 8 children. I remember the night that dinner was chicken bouillon broth… I was so hungry. I loved, still do, milk! But it was rationed to once a day. I Remember that kool-aid was a daily staple in our home. Ugh. Once I left home, I have never had it again, nor gave it to my children. It’s just Sugar, water, and food color in my opinion. I had to have dentures by the time I was 32. I blame it on my childhood diet. I started gardening in 2008. Something I always wanted to do. 2009, oh my goodness….I’d reasearched, and had a bumper crop! Organic, wonderful veggies! I froze much of it, as I didn’t know how to can. I also sold a lot of it at out local farmer’s market. And yes, I had imperfect veggies. Laughed at the carrots, as I had some of them. Long story short….there is so much waste here in America. I had strokes, and I can’t tell you how much I miss my garden. A lot of the veggies I’d froze, I had to throw out. My refrigerator/freezer died. I cried, as I held the garbage bag, having to throw out so much goodness, my roasted green chilis, tomatoes…. I visit my daughter, and they throw out so much food. I try to bite my tongue. Meals left cooked from the night before, still in the pan(s). Huh? Why didn’t they freeze the leftovers? I’m embarassed, yet need to visit our local food bank once a month, which is only allowed one time. I try hard not to waste anything from there! I do like you do. I have another fridge now, thank God, and I cut up, and freeze a lot of the fruit and veggies. From the food bank, a lot of fruit & veggies are on the bank of going bad. I spend a day, cooking/chopping. Making spaghettie sauce from the bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, etc…. Some strawberries, and a canteloupe, cut up, and frozen. I got 2 chicken thighs, which I cooked in the crockpot, and then shredded, and froze the broth…. You get the picture. 🙂
Sue M. says
I also recycle. Maybe it’s just in my town, but 99% of the time, it’s us Seniors putting in the stuff into the recycle bins. A few times, we’ve talked to each other, and said “where are the youngsters”? I took my 6 year old grand-daughter last week, when I went to the recycle bins. She had fun, as she spelled out/figured out, what went where “plastic”, “cardboard/paper”, etc…. I’m hoping that she will be more eco-consious as she grows up, and I keep taking her on the recycle runs. Which, we’re going to do again tomorrow. 🙂