8 initiatives that take advantage of ugly fruits and vegetables

He Ugly Food movement, “ugly food”, is very active in countries like Great Britain, Scandinavia or Germany. Try to convince us of the need to do not leave out non-perfect fruits or vegetables in our purchasebecause they are fruits and vegetables that, if not, will end up in the trash.

It is a movement that addresses us as consumers, to make us aware of the reasons why it is important to take advantage of ugly fruits and vegetables and because of the responsibility we have when we go shopping. It tries to get us to change a deep-rooted mentality that responds to false premises, because, in addition, this change help to make our shopping cart cheaper.

However, this initiative goes much further, because seeks to benefit the entire food chain, starting with the farmer. If we all bought “ugly” fruits and vegetables, farmers could give an outlet for that production that, although it is perfectly valid for consumption, ends up being rejected according to the appearance fees imposed by trade. It could even give way to crops that are slightly damaged by eventual weather effects.

The distributor and the wholesaler would also benefit. In some cases, it can even promote certain solidarity initiativesas is the case of companies that manufacture products derived from discarded fruit, hiring labor from disadvantaged groups.

And it is that the different movements of Ugly Food are aligned with some of the Sustainable Development objectives sponsored by the UN in 2015, whose main purpose is the eradication of poverty in the world, while ensuring the well-being of disadvantaged populations through sustainable economic development in accordance with the rhythms of nature.

Here is a selection of these movements, so that you can learn about their work and support them:

Ugly Food initiatives in Europe

Throughout the continent, initiatives that promote the proper use of food that is unfairly discarded are multiplying, with very different objectives and approaches.

At Oddbox they recover damaged fruits and vegetables from the producers themselves, sort and package them without using unnecessary packaging; when they use them, they are always recyclable packaging. Fruits and vegetables are served to their customers in individualized shipments. They also allocate 5% of their profits to support organizations that fight poverty in London, such as City Harvest.

This company is in the same line as the previous one and its motto reads like this: “At The Wonky Food Company we believe that size, shape and color do not matter, that what is truly important is the flavor”.

It is the initiative of two people who have spent many years delving into the viability of sustainable food, and who have created the company by joining forces. In Eat Grimm (Grimm means ‘ugly’ in Danish) They work directly with local producers, especially from organic farming, They receive fair remuneration for their work. They use in part the help of volunteers to transport the products to their recipients and avoid the use of non-recyclable packaging.

Ugly Fruit and Veg initiatives in Spain

We also have some interesting initiatives in Spain, some already with a long history:

This Catalan company was born in 2019 and sells throughout Spain. It is committed to supporting local farmers and avoiding food waste by selling the fruit that cannot be placed on the market at a advantageous price for both the producer and the consumer.

encourages proximity sale, does not use greenhouses and buys directly from the producer. They sell products such as boxes of fruits and vegetables, such as apples, pears, peaches, cabbage, lettuce, spinach, chard, etc.

This startup-type company, based in Barcelona, ​​was founded in September 2019 and is part of an international chain of the same name. It has the advice of the Netmentora network and take advantage of very ripe or discarded fruit to make 100% natural fruit juiceswith the fight against food and energy waste as a philosophy.

With 2,000 kilos of rescued vegetables and fruits, they report, they save 3,800 kilos of CO2. and the company for every liter of juice produced, they reuse up to two kilos of food that had been rejected. They now operate in Barcelona, ​​but will soon be extended to Madrid and other Spanish cities. They supply juices to restaurants, catering services and coworkings.

This initiative, founded in 2014, aims to promote food use and does so through the activity of gleaning (spigot in Catalan), an ancient practice that he has wanted to recover and that is nothing more than that of Harvest those fruits and vegetables that farmers cannot commercialize because of aesthetic policies or price drops.

They have teams of volunteers., with great work to raise awareness about the value of work in the primary sector, and promote studies and awareness activities to encourage the involvement of people in the fight against food waste. They are based on the principles of the circular economy and seek Give support to groups at risk of social exclusion.

Currently the network of Espigoladors It has more than 100 producers committed to the use of food and they have signed a collaboration agreement with two of the main Catalan agrarian unions, the Federació de Cooperatives Agràriàs de Catalunya and Unió de Pagesos.

Currently, the Espigoladors Foundation works in different Catalan territories. Most of its activity is carried out in the Baix Llobregat Agricultural Park, an agricultural park very close to the city of Barcelona. Likewise, the Espigoladors model has recently been replicated in Navarra through the Buruxka project.

They sell canned vegetables that are made with fruits and vegetables discarded from the commercial circuit: both fruit and vegetable jams, vegetable pates and sauces. All products are vegan and gluten freethey do not have preservatives or colorings, and in the case of jams, with few added sugars.

This Murcian company harvest from the Murcian orchard itself thanks to the collaboration of agricultural cooperatives in the region. It is recycled, given a salable presentation and used for charitable purposes. Its principles: contribute to the eradication of poverty and hunger, while supporting the local farmer.

Directly from the Valencian orchard, this company seeks to give a second chance to fruits that, due to their appearance, cannot be sold in supermarkets and greengrocers. Its objectives: reduce food waste, support local agriculturecontribute to reducing the environmental impact of agriculture.

collect oranges from the Valencian orchard from top quality trees.