One of Outside the Bowl's values is to operate in a way that has the greatest social impact. Our Super Kitchens are having a positive impact on ministry partners, communities, and even the environment. One way we do this is through cutting back on food waste by purchasing "uglies."
Did you know that one-third of the food grown around the world is never eaten? Causes vary from lack of refrigeration and quick market access post-harvest to produce appearing too "ugly" for consumers to purchase. The 2.9 trillion pounds of food "wasted" each year is enough to feed the 795 billion people who are hungry twice-over.
Buying ugly is part of Outside the Bowl's daily operations. The produce is purchased at a discounted price. These savings are passed on to our ministry partners through affordable meal prices. Since these fruits and veggies end up chopped, diced, and cooked into stews, soups, and sauces, the end consumer never knows they are eating uglies.
Israel Estrada, Mexico's operations director, shed further light regarding social impact with one of OTB's ugly vendors. He shares, "We have one particular vendor that mostly sells us seconds. They go through the seven valleys of Baja California and purchase seconds straight from the packing houses. They then sell it to us! We are not only buying from a distributor that cuts back on wastage but they are also a socially responsible company. The company employees developmentally disabled individuals providing work to people who would otherwise find it very difficult to make a living."
Want to learn more about food waste? Check out this article from National Geographic. If you're interested in purchasing "uglies," place an order with Imperfect Produce--a subscription based home delivery program.