If, as consumers, we can change our mindset so that we see gnarled, twisted, lumpy or otherwise imperfect produce as beautiful, we can create demand, change the system and ultimately help feed the world. There are many other inspiring examples of individuals and organizations trying to connect excess food to those who need it.Ĭowin: The ugly food movement embraces the potential of funny-looking or smaller-sized fruits, vegetables and other wild-looking edibles. (Almost 90% of us do not get enough fruits and veggies). If more people start selling ugly produce we have a chance to crack the hunger and malnutrition problems in the U.S. Trader Joe’s founder Doug Rauch recently opened a not-for-profit grocery store in Dorchester, Massachusetts, that sells slightly imperfect goods for a fraction of the cost, with the goal of improving the poor community’s access to healthy food. For over 30 years, they’ve been rescuing surplus food from restaurants, markets, bakeries and redistributing it to soup kitchens, and they also work with farmers to collect imperfect food that they can’t sell, as well as surplus produce that otherwise would’ve been plowed under. I’m on the board of City Harvest in New York City, which is a great example of an organization that can serve as a bridge for rescuing food and bringing it to those in need. Clearly we have an enormous opportunity if we can find a way to retrieve the imperfect food and to feed the hungry. Q: How can imperfect food play a role in feeding the food insecure or the hungry?Ĭowin: Nearly 40% of all food in this country is wasted, and there are over 49 million food-insecure people in the United States. If we accept imperfect food, we can indeed change the world for the better. If home cooks shopped in their own vegetable bin before going to the market, they would save money and help the environment, too, and all because they decided to rescue a vegetable before it turned bad. Q: How can altering how we think about “imperfect food” change the world?Ĭowin: If we could stop wasting food, imagine how many more people we could feed! If shoppers looked at crooked carrots, misshapen potatoes, slightly dinged apples or too-small peaches and thought, wow, that looks delicious, imagine the benefits for struggling farmers. Dana Cowin, editor-in-chief, Food & Wine magazine Courtesy John Kernickĭana Cowin, editor-in-chief of Food & Wine Magazine, launched the “ugly food” movement, which encourages Food & Wine readers and social media users to embrace the unappealing looks of fruits and vegetables.ĬNN Impact Your World had a chance to interview Cowin about “ugly food” before the launch of the “Plenty Project,” which focuses on having a no-waste Thanksgiving.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |