New program to market imperfect produce

Called Waste Me Nots, the program leverages tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers that do not meet criteria set out by the producer's quality control team.

Although unique in shape and size, these vegetables still have the same nutritional value and flavour as their perfect counterparts. Nature Fresh Farms wants to create more of an opportunity to fight food waste and give shoppers further access to nutritious foods.

'We believe it's important to ensure that nutritious and delicious produce does not go to waste," shared Ray Wowryk, director of business development. "By creating this program, we are helping our retailers with a ready-made waste reduction alternative."

Since volume of this type of product is not predictable, the program cannot be guaranteed to supply specific quantities and will depend on the product grown. However, Nature Fresh Farm feels that the unpredictability is outweighed by the fact that their quality and freshness is worth rescuing and sharing with consumers, making the most of all their product grown.

"Sustainability is at the centre of everything we do at Nature Fresh Farms. Not only does this encompass our packaging and growing processes but also that the food we grow gets utilized completely," explained the director of sales, Matt Quiring. "The Waste Me Nots program helps us to reduce waste while allowing us to better service the price-focused shoppers looking for quality-tasting products at a discounted price and let our retail partners bring in some incremental sales to the category."

Photos courtesy of Nature Fresh Farms.
Source: Greenhouse Canada

Source: Greenhouse Canada