Like the Spartans tossing weak babies over a cliff, Americans throw away more than $1 trillion of food each year. Estimates say 50 percent of American produce goes to waste, most of it perfectly healthy food, simply because “it’s ugly.” Abhi Ramesh wants to save those ugly babies.
His company, Misfits Market, partners with organic farmers in the Northeast to deliver produce to homes in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, and now New York, at 30 to 50 percent less than the price of grocery store shopping. “I saw the ugly side of food, not the glamorous side of food,” says Ramesh, who founded Misfits after an eye-opening visit to an apple orchard. With Ramesh’s background in food logistics, Misfits has since rescued more than 200,000 pounds of produce. Most of it isn’t even very ugly. Some might even say cute.
Home cooks can choose between a weekly subscription to the 1-2 person “Mischief Box” ($19) or the 4-5 person “Madness Box” ($34), both of which include an organic mix of seasonal fruits and vegetables, with the occasional addition of conventionally produced freebies. Recently, Mistfits also partnered with Irvington-based BrightFarms greenhouse to provide sustainably grown, local baby greens and fresh herbs. Forget farm-to-table. This is farm-to-kitchen, where you eat well, save money, and combat food waste at the same time. Now that’s our kind of beautiful.
